TORNADOES The National Weather Service classi ed the March 21 tornado that swept through Round Rock as an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Other tornadoes that have touched down in the county include: A history of
April 7, 1980: Round Rock • EF3 level tornado • 1 death May 17, 1989: Leander • EF3 level tornado • 1 death
• 2 injuries • $250,000 in damage
• 28 injuries • $2.5 million in damage
Round Rock resident Kevin Rutledge shows damage to his home. (Brooke Sjoberg/Community Impact Newspaper)
May 27, 1997: Jarrell • EF5 level tornado • 27 deaths
• 12 injuries • $40 million in damage
Likewise in P ugerville, Nick Perkins, Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 re chief, said there was minimal damage from the tornado. Communities come together In areas along the torna- dic path, residents and other agencies began responding to and assessing the damage as soon as the weather cleared. Entities working to help victims included the Round Rock Police Department, Round Rock Fire Department, Williamson County EMS, RoundRock ISDPoliceDepart- ment, Williamson County Sheri ’s O ce, Department of Public Safety and Austin Police Department. On the evening ofMarch 21, the city of Round Rock set up two shelters at United Heri- tage Center at Dell Diamond, located at 3400 E. Palm Val- ley Blvd., and Redbud Ele- mentary School, located at 1500 Ty Cobb Place. Four families ended up staying in the two shelters that night, according to city information. By March 23, volunteers created a makeshift donation
distribution center at Cedar Ridge High School to help residents living within RRISD boundaries. At the United Heritage Center at Dell Diamond, city of Round Rock workers col- lected donations for victims. Also at the Dell Diamond facility, the Austin Disaster Relief Network organized a multiagency resource center that ran for three days from March 24-26. Along with the ADRN, groups including the Red Cross and Catholic Char- ities provided assistance. Round Rock residents also came together to help their neighbors for the next several days following the March 21 tornadoes. As one example, in the neighborhood of South Creek where dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed, resident Tammy Crespo said she was lucky. Her house had only minor damage. Crespo recognized how helpful everyone in the neighborhood was being— checking on each other and making sure everyone had enough food, water and other supplies.
Kevin Rutledge, who lives across a small creek from Crespo but still in the South Creek neighborhood, was not as lucky. The tornado obliterated the back of his house, destroyed his fence and landscaping, and lifted his wife’s work- shop—a portable shed in the backyard—o the ground and pushed it across the yard. While assessing his prop- erty damage March 22, Rut- ledge’s neighbors repeatedly asked him if he was okay and if he needed anything, and he reassured them all that he was alright. Like Crespo, Rutledge noted the helpfulness of neighbors, and how willing they all were to provide what they had to those who may need it more. “Something about Texas, you know?” he said. “And, I’m a native Texan, and that’s what Texas just does. They just come out and help the neighbors and show up.” Brooke Sjoberg and Claire Shoop contributed to this story.
July 4, 1998: Round Rock • EF1 level tornado • 0 deaths March 16, 2000: Leander • EF2 level tornado • 0 deaths July 15, 2017: Georgetown • EF0 level tornado • 0 deaths March 21, 2022: Round Rock • EF2 level tornado • 0 deaths
• 0 injuries • $30,000 in damage
• 0 injuries • $300,000 in damage
• 0 injuries • $100,000 in damage
• 0 injuries • $34 million in Round Rock
SOURCE: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
WHERE TOHELP
Austin Disaster Relief Network 1122 E. 51st St., Austin 512 428 6322 | www.adrn.org Dell Diamond Heritage Center (donations being collected) 3400 E. Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock 512 310 0734 www.roundrocktexas.gov Round Rock ISD Partners in Education Foundation 95 Round Rock West Drive, Ste. 404, Round Rock 512 464 5600 www.rrisdeducationfoundation.org Central Texas Food Bank 6500 Metropolis Drive, Austin 512 282 2111 www.centraltexasfoodbank.org
Red Cross Central Texas 2218 Pershing Drive, Austin 512 928 4271 | www.redcross.org Round Rock Area Serving Center 1099 E. Main St., Round Rock 512 244 2431 | www.rrasc.org SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline 800 985 5990 | www.samhsa.gov Bluebonnet Trails Community Services 1009 N. Georgetown St., Round Rock 844 309 6385 | www.texcouncil.com
Hutto Resource Center 204 E. Live Oak St., Hutto 512 688 0176 www.huttoresourcecenter.org
For more information, visit communityimpact.com.
PRIORITIES: ê Traffic Infrastructure and Mobility ê Public Safety ê Jobs and Economic Development ê Low Taxes ê Smart Growth ê High Quality of Life
VOTE MAY 7TH! Early Vote: April 25th - May 3rd
CONTACT THE CAMPAIGN rene_m_flores@yahoo.com ê (512) 771-9560 1013 Parrot Trail ê Round Rock, Texas 78681 www.facebook.com/ReneFloresforRoundRockCityCouncilPlace2
POLITICAL AD PAID FOR BY RENE FLORES CAMPAIGN
39
ROUND ROCK EDITION • APRIL 2022
Powered by FlippingBook