Severe weather moved through Central Texas on Wednesday evening. High winds and large hail caused damage to homes, vehicles, and trees resulting in power outages in parts of the community. Nearly two inches of rain fell in less than an hour, causing flash flooding along some creeks and low water crossings, and first responders from Austin’s public safety departments responded to multiple water rescues. As of 4 p.m. Thursday, nearly 97% of Austin Energy customers had power restored.  

As the City transitions into a recovery phase from the storm, members of the community are asked to also take actions to start recovery and assess damage. We ask that members of the public please take time to walk the perimeter of their homes, if it is safe to do so, and take pictures of any damage to report to their insurance agency or landlord.  

IF YOU NEED HELP:  

If you are in need of shelter, please contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROS.

Report power outages by:    

• Texting OUT to 287846.      
• Visiting outagemap.austinenergy.com.  
• Calling 512-322-9100.  

Call 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000 to:    

• Report clogged drains or debris in roadways    
• Report flooding in your home if it is not a life-threatening situation    
• Report tree limbs on wires or see downed tree limbs    

Report a downed power line at 512-322-9100; if the line is sparking call 911.

Cooling Centers

Austin Public Library branches and Austin Parks and Recreation Department facilities remain available as Cooling Centers during regular business hours. These are meant to serve as a temporary reprieve from the heat during Austin’s warmer months.  

Those who may still be without power in need someplace cool to go, may visit their local library or rec center to get out of the heat. A Cooling Centers map is available on the Alerts webpage. The map is updated regularly to indicate facilities that may be temporarily unavailable, but the current list may not be accurate. Please call ahead before going to a Cooling Center to ensure it is open and available. Service animals are allowed in City facilities.

Inclement weather is expected to continue this week as the National Weather Service forecasts more rain with a slight risk of severe weather on Thursday evening with rain into overnight Friday morning. Storms are expected to hit Austin between 2-6 a.m. Friday.

In anticipation of this next potential wave of storms, please visit ReadyCentralTexas.org to learn the four steps of emergency preparedness as well as tips for severe weather and flooding.

At the height of the storm, 72,500 customers experienced outages. Crews worked through the night assessing damage, repairing the system and restoring power. Because the damage is so substantial, outages and restoration activities are still expected to extend for multiple days. There is currently no estimated time of restoration for outages related to the storm. The utility will provide additional information once there is a more extensive assessment of system damage.

Restoration Process

Austin Energy takes a phased approach to restoring power after major events.

• Phase 1 — the utility continues to focus on restoring power to critical life-safety services and getting circuits back online. Circuits cover large areas and provide power to many customers. Repairing a circuit can restore thousands at a time and help pinpoint smaller, more specific outages. Also, as part of this phase, Austin Energy is gathering a more detailed assessment of the damage to get a more accurate picture of the situation and enhance our restoration efforts.
• Phase 2 — Austin Energy prioritizes outages affecting the largest number of customers to get more residents restored faster. The utility will work every incident, down to single issues affecting one customer.
• Phase 3 — Austin Energy is focused on the remaining small outages. These are often complex or time-consuming incidents, with each affecting a small number of customers. It can take hours to make these repairs, restoring one to two customers at a time.

Mutual Aid

With such a drastic impact to the system and the community, Austin Energy has called for mutual aid from our neighboring utilities. This assistance will be crucial by providing additional crews to support repairs and power restoration. Mutual aid crews are expected to arrive Thursday afternoon.

Stay Safe Around Downed Power Lines

Never touch a downed power line, even if it is across a road or vehicle. Stay at least 35 feet away from downed lines and never use an object to move a downed wire. Never touch anything or anyone in contact with a power line. When a live wire touches the ground, electricity fans out throughout the area.

Call 512-322-9100 to report a downed power line. If the line is sparking, call 911.

If Customers have an Outage

• If needed, put your emergency plan into action.
• Turn off major appliances to prevent overloading when power is restored.
• Keep refrigerator doors closed as much as possible.
• Follow proper instructions if using a portable generator.

How to Report an Outage

Customers can report outages by:

• Texting OUT to 287846.
• Visiting outagemap.austinenergy.com.
• Calling 512-322-9100.

If customers still have an outage after receiving a text message that power has been restored to their area, please reply OUT. Smaller outages can continue after a major circuit is repaired because of damage to secondary power lines or equipment. This is called a nested or secondary outage.

Austin HSEM

A situational awareness team reported to the Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center on Wednesday evening to monitor the storm’s impact and the Flood Early Warning System along with representatives from Watershed Protection Department and Austin Fire.  

The Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management continues to monitor the weather and is helping coordinate recovery efforts for the City. Messaging about recovery information is available on the City’s Alerts webpage Austintexas.gov/alerts. When updates are available or as information changes, it will be posted there in 14 languages.

Reporting Damage

Resources to assist with recovery may be available through the state or federal government if certain thresholds are met for amount of damage sustained for the area. That is why reporting accurate data is important to help the community become eligible for those resources.

Community members can submit a damage report for their home or business through the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT). This tool assists officials in gathering data to understand the scope and size of an incident. By sharing details about your damage through photos in iSTAT, officials can determine the severity of a disaster and whether federal thresholds are met to receive assistance. Self-reporting damage through iSTAT also helps state officials identify immediate needs for resources.  

More information about recovery resources is available at ReadyCentralTexas.org to help community members find other resources for minor home repairs or their small business.

Austin-Travis County EMS

ATCEMS Communications received a surge of 9-1-1 calls beginning at approximately 6:45 p.m. ranging from water rescues, power outage related medical calls, and traffic collisions.  

Crews responded to nine water rescue calls ranging from people in vehicles taking on water to pedestrians who were swept away by fast moving currents or stuck in rising water.  

Medics along with public safety partners from AFD and APD bravely performed these rescues.   Rescue Paramedics specially trained in water rescues utilized their expertise to respond to several of these rescues.

Unfortunately, one water rescue call resulted in a fatality of an adult patient. The victim was reportedly submerged for over 20 minutes, and the rescue operation transitioned to recovery mode and they were pronounced deceased on scene. Our condolences go out to the victim’s friends and family.  

Thanks to a partnered response to a call to one home without power and a child dependent on a ventilator, ATCEMS and AFD were able to get a generator to the home and prevent an unnecessary transport to the hospital.

Single response units from ATCEMS Community Health Paramedics transitioned to emergency response and assisted with rescues throughout the city.  

One CHP unit and a DPS Trooper utilized a rope on an individual who was found barely holding onto a guardrail as swift water rose up to his neck. They utilized the rope to wrap under his arms and pull him to safety.  

These unfortunate events are what ATCEMS medics are trained for. Every medic is trained in swift water awareness, and all units are stocked with throw bags to affect these rescues, where seconds count in flash flooding situations.  

ATCEMS Facilities received no damage. Some stations were affected by the power outages, but the station generators functioned, and they are not without power.

Austin Fire Department

Calls to AFD came in quickly once the storm hit.  In the first three hours of the storm starting just after 6:30 p.m., AFD received 415 calls.  An additional 206 calls came from 9:30 p.m. into Thursday morning.  

AFD crews continue to assist with damage assessments at City facilities on Thursday. Two AFD Fire Stations are running on backup generator power.  

During flash flooding resulting from the storm, AFD had six water rescue responses. AFD also had six structure fire responses.

Other data for AFD calls:

• 102 reports of trees down
• 172 reports of wires arcing/down
• 67 Alarm activations  
• 18 reports of people stuck in elevators

Austin Police Department

Though this event happened quickly, APD stepped in with our other public safety partners, assisted with several water rescues, ultimately saving lives. All APD officers are trained in swift water response and equipped with throw bags. Tragically, there was a loss of life and that person has not been identified at this time. We encourage our community to pay attention to roadways and use alternative routes, due to debris from the storm.  

Austin Resource Recovery

Storm Debris

Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) is still assessing the damage from last night’s storm. ARR customers should follow these instructions to dispose of storm debris:

Small branches, yard trimmings and leaves 

Place small branches and yard trimmings into the green composting cart, lawn and leaf bags or a reusable container and set them out on the next scheduled collection day. Small branches (no longer than five feet and no thicker than three inches in diameter) that do not fit into the green cart with the lid closed should be stacked into manageable piles no heavier than 30 pounds. Typically, ARR will collect the contents of your green cart and up to 15 extra items placed beside the cart, but item limits will be temporarily waived for customers who need storm debris collected. Learn more about composting collection.

Large branches and tree limbs 

ARR customers can call 3-1-1 to request a collection of down tree limbs due to the severe weather. ARR crews will assess and collect them as soon as possible. Please have the limbs at the curb ready for collection.

While there are currently no service changes for regular collections, ARR customers can get updates about future service changes by downloading the Austin Recycles app or by signing up for reminders at austintexas.gov/myschedule.

Development Services Department

Last night’s storm caused damage to trees in many Austin neighborhoods, including trees regulated by the City of Austin’s Tree Preservation Ordinance. Austinites may begin removing trees that are severely damaged and present an imminent safety concern. Please be aware that trees and branches may shift suddenly, so proceed removing them with caution.

The City of Austin requires a permit for the removal of any regulated trees, but this permit may be submitted retroactively in cases of storm damage. This permit is free and allows the City to ensure tree preservation requirements were followed and better understand the impact of the damage on Austin’s urban forest.  

When removing a tree that has been damaged, please take photos that show the condition of the tree before it was removed. For more information on removal of trees, or other emergency repairs, visit the Development Services Department’s Permits for Emergency Repairs webpage.  

Watershed Protection Department

Watershed Protection Department (WPD) is currently operating a Department Operations Center. WPD has crews all over northern part of city assessing storm water controls, drains, etc.  Currently working through 30 service requests and expecting more. Field Operations crews are responding to those service requests and are assessing storm water controls and drainage systems where flooding occurred to remove debris.  Flood Early Warning System team is monitoring for expected rainfall overnight Friday morning. FEWS staff ready to respond to EOC. Barricade crews are on call. Best timing for next round of storms: 2-6 a.m. Friday.

Yesterday’s storm brought between 0 and 3 inches of rain to parts of the city. Two major street floods were caused by clogged storm drains: Steck Ave at Mopac and Spicewood Springs at Wood Hollow Dr., both now cleared. Three structures flooded caused by local street flooding on Forest Mesa Dr. (Far North Austin), Bull Creek Rd. (North Austin), and Manor Rd. (East side).