She has been busy getting her business, Pecan Park Riverside RV Park, ready for what is now the Category 3 Hurricane Harvey after the Caldwell County Emergency Management department called her Thursday evening to say there would be a "voluntary evacuation" in here area.
"We've had catastrophic flooding three times in the last two years," Rowley said.
According to the RV park's website, Pecan Park operated as a mobile home park until 1998, when flooding washed the mobile homes away. When the Federal Emergency Management Agency redrew floodplain lines after 1998, it meant no permanent living structure that was not already there could be returned, so old mobile home sites were converted to RV park rentals.
This time, Rowley said, Caldwell County officials said they were worried about "unprecedented flash flooding" because of where the RV park is located, east of I-35 and south of Highway 80 next to the San Marcos River.
"They're worried that we would get trapped here," she said.
No stranger to flooding, the Rowleys lost their home in the San Marcos floods of 2015 and now live in a home on high ground across town.
But for the approximately 115 RVs currently camped out at her family-owned RV park, new homes must be found temporarily, such as on large parking lots or with friends or family who live outside the storm's targeted areas.
Around 3 p.m. Friday, The National Weather Service called for "all persons with interests along the [Blanco River]" to monitor the latest forecasts and be "prepared to take necessary precautions to protect life and property."
The Blanco River is under a flood warning from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning with minor flooding predicted. The Guadalupe River, Plum Creek and Sandies Creek are also under flood warnings. Hays and Caldwell counties are currently under a flood watch through Monday morning.
Austin residents Kyle and Reesa Shipley have been at the RV park for about a month. Friday morning, they were packing up and heading to Brownswood.[/caption]After receiving the call from Caldwell County officials, Rowley said she gathered her employees together and came up with a plan. On Friday morning as phone calls came in every few minutes, Rowley remained calm.
"Everybody is here with a task to do," she said, adding she wants to get everyone out by 9 a.m. Saturday. "We will be working late into the night to make sure all the work is done."
