“We’ve been through this drill numerous times,” San Marcos Mayor John Thomaides said, referencing the two floods of 2015 that destroyed hundreds of homes and the storm the area experienced in April.
“We know firsthand what Houston is going to be going through over the next weeks, months and even years,” he said.
The city of Houston was inundated with several feet of rain over the weekend as the Category 4 Hurricane Harvey caused flooding in many of the city’s streets and prompted water rescues and mass evacuations.
“I just think that this is a new normal for our planet; certainly for our state and our region,” Thomaides said. “We absolutely have to be ever more vigilant and more prepared going forward."
Storms become routine
A San Marcos, Buda and Kyle emergency management prepared for the worst, they did so with confidence in their preparation efforts.
Staffers work inside the joint Hays County and San Marcos Emergency Operations Center.[/caption]“The citizens of San Marcos should feel very comfortable that they have an incredibly experienced and knowledgeable team that knows what to do prior to these events as well as during and after,” Thomaides said.
Kyle Chief of Staff Jerry Hendrix said the city’s previous experience with catastrophic storms has prepared Kyle for potential flooding caused by heavy rainfall.
“We’ve had so much heavy rainfall and flooding in the last few years that when it comes to the routine of low water crossings, we know where they are, we already have our procedures in place and how to notify the public, and the public is pretty good at identifying those areas for themselves,” Hendrix said.
He said with no notices of water getting into homes and no significant structural damage to buildings, Kyle was fortunate to get through the storm unscathed.
“Just a few days prior to the event we went around and checked out drainage systems to make sure there were no clogs, preparing as much as possible that everything was prepared to be able to drain the water,” Hendrix said.
In Buda, Mayor Todd Ruge said the city’s coordination with Hays County and the city fire department did a great job of keeping people informed.
“There has been some reports of some leaky roofs and, of course, some trees and limbs down throughout the city. No injuries have been reported as far as I know,” Ruge said. “With the road closure and the ability for all agencies to get out information, I think that our ability to all work together really made a difference this time.”
Similar to Kyle and San Marcos, Buda is focusing on making sure that its storm drainage system is fully functioning in preparation for natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey.
“One thing that we’ve done between the storms—and unfortunately we are getting these storms every couple of years—is that we really took a look at our drainage and the storm drainage improvements that we could make in the short term, and the drainage worked excellently this time,” Ruge said.
In Hays County, Thomaides said new real-time flood-control monitoring and San Marcos’ short-term improvements to stormwater management also contributed to the limited flooding San Marcos experienced over the weekend.
This year San Marcos City Council is doubling spending on stormwater management through the raising of utility fees over five years, something Thomaides said he is supportive of.
"[Drainage] is one of the biggest problems we have and one of the smallest funds we have to fix that problem,” he said. “This is what’s necessary in San Marcos. We absolutely have to deal with stormwater management and draining in a better way than we have before.”
Assessing the damage
Both Hendrix and Ruge said the cities are waiting until the storm passes before doing a complete assessment of damages and making plans for improvement in the future.
“There will obviously be overviews on evacuation and when to pull the trigger on that,” Ruge said. “We will be looking at what other cities did or didn't do. Whenever we go through these [storm situations], there is always something that can be learned from the last event. Each time we become more cohesive and are better handle these situations the next time. I'm just hoping that the next event is 20 years from now.”
In San Marcos, Thomaides said the city would perform an “after action" report to assess the damage and evaluate the city’s performance in responding to calls.
Kharley Smith, Hays County emergency management coordinator, and Gib Watt, San Marcos interim emergency management coordinator, announced Monday morning that the joint Emergency Operations Center is being deactivated, and normal response operations will resume.
“I just think that this is a new normal for our planet; certainly for our state and our region."
—John Thomaides, San Marcos mayor
“We’ve had minimal need for response overnight—mostly to report power outages and downed trees—and can resume our normal operations out of our respective offices,” Smith said. “Once again the countywide jurisdictions and first-responder organizations have come together to respond quickly and efficiently to what could have been a much worse weather situation for us.”
Watt reminded residents to stay alert to changing weather patterns and the possibility of additional rain.
“We still have roads closed, and there’s still a possibility of additional rain,” he said. “Please drive carefully and continue to monitor the weather.”
Evacuees
The city San Marcos opened its activity center Saturday night for evacuees and took in four people—three from Houston and one from San Marcos.
Ruge said although he believes San Marcos will be taking the lead on helping evacuees from cities such as Houston and Rockport, he said Buda is also prepared to help people find shelter.
At this time, San Marcos has no plans for long-term sheltering of evacuees, and Thomaides said the state has an evacuee infrastructure plan in place that is largely centered around the larger Texas cities.
In Austin, Mayor Steve Adler said the city has been asked to shelter up to 7,000 evacuees and staff. Adler has called an emergency meeting Tuesday with City Council to discuss the Austin’s response to Harvey.
The State has asked the City of Austin to house up to 7,000 evacuees and staff is determining how to accommodate the request. #Harvey
— Mayor Adler (@MayorAdler) August 28, 2017
