Austin, TX

How people stayed cool without power on the hottest day of the year in Austin

Published

2 years ago

August 22, 2024

How people stayed cool without power on the hottest day of the year in Austin

Dunia Bautista was watching TV in her home in East Austin when her power went out.

“It’s really hot. It’s truly very hot,” Bautista said in Spanish. She sat on the porch with her kids, trying to cool off. “I bathed my baby because she’s vulnerable and young and was heating up, so I cooled her down,” Bautista said.

Wednesday was the city’s hottest day of the year so far and about 15,000 people were without power from about 5-9 p.m. in the East Austin and Riverside neighborhoods, according to Austin Energy. The utility company said high energy demand caused the outage.

The East Side can get pretty hot and suffers more from extreme heat than other parts of Austin. Without power, neighbors stepped outside to cool off, many fanning themselves on porches, while others packed up and left for places with electricity and running air conditioning.

Clint Muhlenburg said his power went out at around 5 p.m. and his house instantly warmed up. “I’d been sitting in the dark for a while and realized … this isn’t getting better,” he said, while loading his belongings and his dog into his car.

He thought the evening would cool things down a little, but when that didn’t happen, he made plans to head to a hotel. Muhlenburg said he had no idea when the power would be back and wanted better communication from Austin Energy.

“I know it’s probably a difficult circumstance for them but just communicating would be helpful,” he said.

Cooling centers in South Austin extended their hours until 11 p.m. in case people needed a place to escape the heat. They usually close at 9 p.m.

Wednesday’s heat overloaded a transformer, which helped prevent any serious damage to the system, but resulted in the power outage. Matt Mitchell, a spokesperson with Austin Energy, said the power was restored to all customers by 9 p.m. and crews checked on other systems across town to prevent similar power outages from happening.

“We are confident it will continue to operate as it should and we will not be in a situation like we were in yesterday,” he said.

When power returned to East Austin, a warm glow returned to neighborhood windows and Austin’s iconic moonlight towers flickered back on. Cheering could be heard from the street and some residents lit a firework in celebration.

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Austin, TX

More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in high water, governor says – WTOP News

Published

2 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Press Room

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in…

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — More dangerous Texas floods expected after at least 2 killed and hundreds of people rescued in high water, governor says.

Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Austin, TX

Live updates: Flash Flood emergency in Kerr County as rain continues to pound Texas

Published

14 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Press Room

Live updates: Flash Flood emergency in Kerr County as rain continues to pound Texas

KERRVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Kerrville issued a shelter-in-place Thursday morning, with heavy rain causing reported evacuations early Thursday morning. A Flash Flood Warning is currently in place for Kerr County as the Guadalupe River continues to rise.

Around 5:30 a.m., the National Weather Service said a “large and deadly flood wave is moving down” the Guadalupe River.

KXAN First Warning Weather Meteorologist Kristen Currie said approximately 11 inches of rain have fallen northwest of Kerr County since 10 p.m. on Wednesday. The Guadalupe River is expected to reach major flood stage in multiple areas.

Kerr County PIO Lisa Walter said “there have been multiple swift water rescues and evacuations.” Officials emphasized not to drive through flooded streets and to turn around if water covers the roadway.

Evacuations were underway in multiple areas, according to the county, including:

Goat Creek
Arcadia Loop
Lowery/Guadalupe area
Junction Highway low-water crossings
Other low-lying neighborhoods

Emergency shelters are open at Impact Church (Goat Creek evacuation point), Calvary Temple Church and City West Church for people in West Kerr County, the county said.

Here are the latest headlines:

Live updates

7:03 a.m.: KXAN’s Kevin Baskar is in Gillespie County providing updates on the latest flood conditions in the area. Watch his update below.

6:37 a.m.: Kerr County officials emphasized not to drive through flooded streets and to turn around if water covers the roadway.

Evacuations were underway in multiple areas, according to the county, including:

Goat Creek
Arcadia Loop
Lowery/Guadalupe area
Junction Highway low-water crossings
Other low-lying neighborhoods

Emergency shelters are open at Impact Church (Goat Creek evacuation point), Calvary Temple Church and City West Church for people in West Kerr County, the county said.

6:27 a.m.: Video shows emergency crews hauling boats and rescue equipment through Kerrville.

6:15 a.m. NewsNation correspondent Xavier Walton and his photographer captured a structure being swept up in river water and crashing into a Kerrville bridge. The structure appears to be some sort of shipping container, pushing against the bridge.

Watch the video below:

6:08 a.m.: Kerr County PIO Lisa Walter confirms “there have been multiple swift water rescues and evacuations.”

6:02 a.m.: The Guadalupe River at Center Point is expected to crest at 35 feet, which is the same crest as July 4, 2025.

5:57 a.m.: The National Weather Service said “a large deadly flood wave” is moving down the Guadalupe River.

5:49 a.m.: The Comfort Volunteer Fire Department said it has units in Kerrville and Centerpoint alerting people along the Guadalupe River. They’re helping Kerr County with evacuations along Highway 27 between Comfort and Centerpoint. They said all VFD personnel are OK.

5:30 a.m.: The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that it’s received reports of “street flooding in Ingram, and it’s likely many roads and city streets are flooded as well.”

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Austin, TX

Austin Pets Alive! activates emergency response to assist shelters affected by flooding

Published

1 day ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

Austin Pets Alive! activates emergency response to assist shelters affected by flooding

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.

In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.”

APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.

Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.

The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter.

Here are ways you can help:

Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals.
Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks.
Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.

If you would like to donate, click here.

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