'Wall of water': A look back at catastrophic Memorial Day floods in Austin
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas has experienced two catastrophic flooding events on Memorial Day weekend going back to the 80s.
With rain in the forecast for next week, follow the KXAN First Warning Weather team for forecasts and real-time alerts for severe weather conditions.
2015 Memorial Day flood
It’s now been ten years since a flash flood hit the Blanco and San Marcos rivers in Hays County — killing at least 13 people, KXAN has previously reported.
In Austin itself, roughly five inches of rain fell on Memorial Day in 2015, according to the city — causing roads to close and people to flee to higher ground.
“Units began running calls around 9 a.m. that morning,” Austin Fire Department Assistant Chief Tom Vocke remembered. “Water and flood-related calls started, but eventually turned into the units that we were working with being assigned to the Pleasant Valley area.”
Vocke talked about the fire department’s efforts to evacuate people from a neighborhood in that area, which was flooding. At some point, the “wall of water” came, and the streets turned into rivers, he said.
“We had 27 firefighters working that area at the time. After the water came through, 24 of those firefighters were sheltering in place in high areas with members of the community,” Vocke said.
The city of Austin said it has done the following to protect Austin from future flood events since:
- Improved local drainage systems and infrastructure in flood-prone areas
- Elevated its Community Rating System flood score, resulting in discounts up to 25% on flood insurance premiums
- Upgraded Austin’s Flood Early Warning System (FEWS)
- Created a pilot program to help homeowners in flood-prone areas with flood insurance costs
1981 Memorial Day flood
During the 1981 Memorial Day flood, more than a foot of water fell in less than three hours, killing 13 people and causing extensive damage, KXAN previously reported.
That flood kickstarted significant changes to how Austin prepares for severe flooding — including the creation of the FEWS.
That system includes a team of experts who can alert the public and emergency responders to potential flooding.
“The team includes a Program Manager, a Hydrologist Senior, two Engineers, and four IT Support Analysts. Their mission is to identify flood hazards and alert the public and emergency responders about the hazard to protect the lives and property of the public from flooding,” the Watershed Protection Department wrote in a memo to city council.
FEWS uses tools like:
- Rain and stream gages
- Cameras at low-water crossings
- Automatic traffic gates
- Flashing beacons
They’re also the team behind ATX Floods.
“We ask residents to go look at it. It’s a live program. When it rains, we actually offer live updates on which crossings are closed, where there is rainfall. It’s a really very good site for residents to go look at,” Ramesh Swaminathan, the assistant director of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department, told KXAN previously.
How to prepare for floods
Preparing for flooding includes:
- Making a plan
- Learning about flood insurance
- Signing up for emergency alerts
“We are trying to do everything we can, but the community has a role to play, so we [would] really love for them to be part of it. Go to atxfloodsafety.net. There are many useful links there to be prepared,” Swaminathan said.
