'Devastating' Flooding Hits Northern Hill Country, Threatens Austin

A major bridge over the Llano River has been washed away in Kingsland, and major flooding is occurring in Llano as the northern Hill Country has been pounded with record rainfall for the past two days, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.

This is on top of deadly rains late last week that washed away an RV park near Junction, leaving eight people injured, three dead, and one still missing.

Austin Fire Division Chief Palmer Buck, who is on the scene in Kingsland, tells 1200 WOAI news about the operations underway

."We are doing evacuations and rescues as the water comes up we are pulling people out of houses," he said.  "We are encouraging people to stay off the roads, and if they have someplace they can go to be safe, to stay safe."

The flooding is also pushing the Guadalupe River near Kerrville and Comfort over its banks.  Many Hill Country roads are closed, leaving people trapped in their homes.  Several schools in the area are closed today, because buses can't get through.

The Lower Colorado River Authority says the floodgates at Mansfield and Tom Miller Dams are being opened, meaning water will be coming 'hard and fast' into the Highland Lakes.

Austin Fire Chief Tom Dodds has issued an order banning all boating Lake Austin, Lady Bird Lake, and the Colorado River downstream from Longhorn Dam.  

He said any boats being operated on the lakes are subject to being impounded.Texas State University in San Marcos cancelled classes on Tuesday due to a power outage.

Flood warnings are in place across the northern Hill Country."If they are in an area prone to flooding they need to get to higher ground," Buck said.

Top Photo: Spectrum News

Bottom Photo: Williamson County Sheriff's Department


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