Flood victims attend information meeting

More than a week later and flood victims seem to still be in a state of confusion as to what to do next. City and county leaders hosted a community information meeting at Perez Elementary Monday night.

Groups such as the Red Cross spoke with folks. The mayor and other city staff made themselves available. There were two 40 minute information sessions offered that focused on permits and buyouts.

FOX 7 spoke with a man named Frank Cruz. His aunt Inez Garza died when she was swept away by flood water from her home in thoroughbred farms. He was here tonight on behalf of his family. He says they feel forgotten about.

"Devastation. People don't have anywhere to stay. There's people living in the same homes that were flooded five feet with sewage water. There's not much help that's been given out to those families who need help. I understand it's still a tucked away part of Austin, but it's Austin and should be treated with dignity," said Cruz.

For some Onion Creek residents this is their second time around.

After taking care of the flood damage inside his home, Doug White went through belongings in his garage.

"We took a real beating this time because I had everything packed in my garage because we were going to get bought out this summer. Since we were gonna move, I didn't want to put everything away and have to worry about it so I had it all packed away and then the flood came," said White.

Precious items he managed to save when his home along Onion Creek flooded in 2013 were ruined when heavy rainfall once again entered his home the day before Halloween.

He was drying books and photo albums in his yard when we stopped by.

"It's heart-breaking in a way. Our wedding [albums] are wasted. There's nothing left of them," he said.

White is number 87 on the buyout list. He says the city is on 71. So he has bought plastic tubs to try and protect what's left should he get flooded again.

"The city I believe is treating us fairly and they can only move so fast," said White.

He's lost a lot. The hits will continue for years to come.

"The shame is I was hoping this would be a rental property for my later years as an income. That's gone," said White.

This is the the breakdown of  the current situation. An average of 71 people stay at the city/county shelter each night.

A daily average of 179 households have sought services from the flood assistance center since the flood.