After Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto were out of danger from the effects of Tropical Storm Harvey, officials from the three cities left for the hardest-hit areas of Texas to offer assistance.

Reports of 6-10 inches of rain were recorded Aug. 25-27 in areas northeast of Austin, including Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto, which led to several temporary road closures in all three cities along with downed trees and power lines.

After the skies cleared here, the focus was on the Hurricane Harvey zone to the east. More than 50 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Houston area and along the coast.

“We’ve sent four firefighters with one of our reserve engines that is equipped as a front-line fire truck,” city of Round Rock spokesperson Kristin Brown said. “The crew is at the coast operating as a fire engine would operate there normally.”

Brown said the deployments are approximately 10 days, with new crews rotating in to offer constant assistance.

Round Rock also had a rescue boat ready to deploy, but it remained here since the city was in the initial impact area.

Several Round Rock firefighters work at the State Operations Center in Austin processing resource requests, tracking resources and other logistical functions related to managing assistance to the coast.

In Hutto, city officials worked with residents in different neighborhoods to prepare sandbags and make sure drains were free of debris during the storm.

“We were in a good preventative posture,” Hutto City Manager Odis Jones said. “The residents were out helping their neighbors, and I think the hard work paid off for us. We had a sinkhole, two fires, some down power lines, but we were fine.”

Hutto Police Chief Byron Frankland, who still owns a house in Galveston and has family there, said the real need for residents in the Houston area will be in the coming weeks.

“I know a lot of people and quite a few officers that lost everything,” Frankland said. “They will need canned goods, water, socks, underwear and clothing. The basic necessities.”

Frankland said he plans to send a team, likely four officers, to help.

“We are one big family when a storm hits us in a rough way,” Frankland said. “We will band together and help people get through it.”

Pflugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales said he appreciated the efforts of Police Chief Jessica Robledo and her team as they activated the Emergency Operation Center at the police
department.

Weiss Lane was temporarily closed between Pecan Street and Wolf Pack, as was North Railroad Avenue from Main Street to Pecan for downed power poles, which were quickly repaired. A motorist lost control and left the roadway, driving into Lake Pflugerville. The driver was not injured.