Thoroughbred Farms Flood Relief

The Thoroughbred Farms neighborhood located in Travis County was one of the many neighborhoods hard hit by the 2015 floods. No structure in that neighborhood was left untouched by the flood.  TARG was honored to spearhead a debris cleanup in this neighborhood.

The first weekend was March 13, 2016.   Keep Austin Beautiful sponsored us with supplies/tools and recruiting volunteers, including several members of the local Sierra Club.  We were able to totally file one donated dumpster and burn numerous piles of wood debris under a strict controlled burn.

We were able to complete the cleanup of that neighborhood on April 10, 2016.  Travis County provided 10 dumpsters with the City of Austin providing another.  Also, the Travis County jail week-end inmates program provided over 50 people to assist.  By the end of that day, all trash piles of the October flood were in the containers.  Neighbors pitched in and one neighbor used his own bob cat to help in the clean-up.  One destroyed home was demolished and other residents mowed and trimmed trees.

Thanks to all who helped to complete this task.

 

Learn How To Use Your NOAA Weather Radio

If you live within the Onion Creek area that the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department, working with the Southeast Contact Team, has scheduled three information sessions to help residents learn how to use the NOAA emergency weather radios distributed at the 2013 October Flood Open Houses hosted in July. At these information sessions, City staff will assist residents with:

• Installing new batteries and provide instructions for proper set up and continued use.
• Check the programming of the weather radios to ensure alerts are being received for the proper area.
• Provide detailed information about what each of the weather alerts means.
• Assist residents in subscribing to ATXfloods.com/Alerts and the City’s Emergency Notification System.

The sessions will be held at the Southeast Branch Library, 5803 Nuckols Crossing Road, Austin 78744, on the following dates and times:

Saturday, 8/16/14, 2PM – 4PM

Select the time and date that works with your schedule.

Please share this information with your friends and neighbors who live in the Onion Creek area.

If you are unable to attend these sessions, please be sure that the NOAA weather radio provided by the City is plugged into a wall outlet and placed near a window, so that radio signals can be received easily. If the batteries are dead, we have attached an PDF with instructions on how to replace them.

Once new batteries have been installed, use the A/C adapter found in the backpack to plug the radio into a wall outlet near a window. You might also consider placing the laminated alert information card provided in the backpack with the radio, so you may understand the alerts when they sound. Leave the radio plugged into the wall outlet. The batteries keep the radio working when the power is out.

You may also subscribe to receive flood alerts at http://www.ATXFloods.com/Alerts

You may also subscribe to receive other emergency notifications, which is especially important if you have a cell phone, at http://alertregistration.com/capcog/

<http://www.atxfloods.com/

@atxfloods

COA Watershed Department Updates

Corps Project Funding

Funding was designated to be shared 35% locally and 65% federally. The U.S. Congress authorized the project in 2007, but federal funding was not approved until March 2014. As a result, the City has spent more than its 35% share.

In March 2014, $11.8 million in federal funding was approved for the City and Travis County. The details of the partnership agreement will be worked out by August.

Buyouts

• Recovery Buyout Program: Includes the buyout of 116 homes in the project area. The process is ongoing, with 114 offers made and 92 closings as of July 2, 2014.
• Remaining Corps of Engineers Buyouts: 44 properties remain in the project area. The recent federal funding may be used to begin these buyouts. It may not be enough to buy all the properties this year. Property owners will be contacted directly by us as funding becomes available for their properties.
• Certifcates of Obligation: Includes the buyout of approximately 140 homes outside the Corps project area. Property owners will be contacted directly by us.
• Outside the Project Area: Approximately 230 structures in the area of William Cannon and Pleasant Valley Roads remain at risk of flooding in a 100-year storm outside of these buyout areas. We are diligently pursuing funding to buy out these houses. Call 512-974-2843.

Documents

• Map of Buyouts in Corps Project Area
• Map of Buyouts for the Certificates of Obligation
• Map of Substantial Damage in Neighborhoods near William Cannon and Pleasant Valley
• Map of Substantial Damage in the Onion Creek Neighborhood near Pinehurst and Wild Dunes

Contacts

City staff and HDR Engineering are working together on the real estate transactions for the buyouts.

• Alex Gale, HDR Engineering, 512-453-5501
• Melinda Ruby, Project Manager, 512-453-5501
• Pam Kearfott, Project Sponsor, 512-974-3361
• Outside Project Area, 512-974-2843

Report suspicious activity to 911. For non-emergency security concerns, call Leticia Campa, APD District Representative, at 512-974-5490.

Q & A for Rebuilding Flood Affected Homes

This is the current answers provided by the City of Austin on the flood related rebuilding questions.   If you have other questions you want answered please email them to info@targetingrecovery.org

Q&A on Rebuilding Flooded Homes

 

Storm Ready? Sign Up for Emergency Alerts

Sign up to receive emergency information alerts

En español – frequently asked questions 

With severe weather in the forecast, today is a great day to register to receive alerts from the Regional Notification System (RNS). The RNS sends alerts during large-scale emergencies and major incidents that occur near you and your loved ones, using your registered contact information. Register your cellphone, landline, email address or pager to get alerts by voice call, email or text at wireless.capcog.org

(Contact information, including phone numbers, is only used for emergency and major incident notification.)

If you do not have Internet access, you can still register to receive alerts by phone. Just call toll free 866-484-3264, and you will be prompted for your contact information.

The free RNS service, previously called the “Emergency Notification System,” covers Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis and Williamson Counties. More than 10,000 people across Central Texas have registered with the Capital Area Council of Governments’ newly updated RNS.

The system is used to warn people during a flood; to instruct residents during an ongoing law enforcement SWAT operation; and in the 2011 Labor Day wildfire outbreak, to contact more than 9,000 residences and businesses in Bastrop, Travis, Fayette, Caldwell, Hays and Burnet Counties.

Don’t delay – it takes just 15 minutes to sign up today. To learn more about the RNS, download the frequently asked questions sheet at capcog.org/divisions/homeland-security/rns/

Help save a life. – Encourage your friends, neighbors and relatives to join today.Submitted by:  Travis County Emergency Services PIO Lisa Block, Tel:  512-854-7954