Flooding Hits Home for Texans

News of 22 deaths and closed roadways caused by intense flooding in Texas reached Elisabeth S. McKetta '01 in an e-mail from her mother.

"I'm always relived to hear from my family," McKetta said as she read the most recent news from home. McKetta's home in Austin was not damaged.

But one quarter of Texas was inundated last weekend, and students from Texas are slowly learning the extent of the damage at home and how friends and family are being affected.

October was the rainiest month in history for some areas of Texas and as a result 60 counties, mostly in the southern and central regions, have been affected by flooding.

President Clinton declared the state a major disaster area today and has made federal funding to aid in recovery available to 20 counties. Jo Schweikard Moss, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said current estimates on the cost of damage approach $400 million.

Beyond the numbers, stories of personal loss are hitting close to home for some students. Eloise D. Austin '02 is from San Antonio, a city which has been hit hard by the flood.

Austin said that cars in her grandmother's garage were floating in the overflow water and that 27 horses in a stable near her home were washed away by the flooding water.

"There was also a woman who lived in my neighborhood and she got stranded in the middle of an intersection," Austin said. "She called her husband [for help], but he got there too late and they found her body in a ditch. It's just insane. I'm so disconnected."

Several students, worried about friends and family members from afar, shared this view.

"I worry about it," McKetta said. "It's scary that there's nothing I can do. I can really only look on."

Assistance in dealing with the emotional strain caused by the flooding is being provided by University Health Services (UHS) and the Bureau of Study Council.

"I know that some students have been in to get help and to get information on how to be supportive of friends at home," said Richard D. Kadison, chief of mental health services at UHS.

Kadison said the services provided by UHS are not only for cases of severe mental health issues, but rather "whenever there is an event that hits the community at large. We try to help with the grieving process for any situation like he one in Texas."

Texas Club Co-President Clay B. Cowan '99 said the organization may attempt to help with relief efforts. "If we do, it will be through our alumni groups, but we have to wait to find out what's going on down there," he said.

Cowan was aware that flooding was just the newest development in Texas' recent weather problems. "Texas has had a really tough year," Cowan said. "We had one of the hottest summers in history. A lot of cattle and crops were especially damaged."

Amy Lemen, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs said the drought this summer caused the destruction of crops, power outages and killed more than 100.

Five people remain missing due to flooding and damage assessments are continuing. Federal assistance to additional counties is still being considered.

-Material from wire reports was used in this story.