Leander - Liberty Hill Edition | December 2025

Residents and ocials navigate cleanup months after oods From the cover

July 4 ood zone Damage boundary County boundary

The current situation

CLEAR CREEK

Williamson County

Travis County ocials said reductions in National Weather Service stang earlier this year may have contributed to delays in the ood alerts reaching residents, but local personnel quickly coordinated with the agency to escalate warnings. Willis and other residents described little information, limited access and a reliance on neighbors when the community’s only road washed away. Several conducted their own welfare checks, she said. “We did our own search and rescue,” Willis said. While Travis County ocials point to their documented response timeline as evidence of an active emergency eort, residents argue that bureaucratic barriers slowed recovery and restricted outside help. Former Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle wrote on social media that resources sent by the city were initially turned away. “In a state of emergency, that makes no sense,” Willis said during a state committee hearing July 31. A Travis County spokesperson conˆrmed DeLisle was present throughout emergency management operations, and Leander ˆre crews stayed active in the area during both the initial and post-response phases. After the ood, ocial search-and-rescue teams, including specialized dog units, had to methodically comb 13 miles of creek for survivors and those who died before debris could be cleared—a slow but necessary process to ensure safety and follow federally mandated best practices, Travis County Judge Andy Brown said.

200

195

201

BEAR CREEK

29

NORTH FORK SAN GABRIEL RIVER

SOUTH FORK SAN GABRIEL RIVER

183

Liberty

1174

LAKE GEORGETOWN

1869

Georgetown

285

29

BREWER BRANCH

LITTLE CREEK

Leander

SAN GABRIEL RIVER

1174

BIG SANDY CREEK

183

1431

183A TOLL

COW CREEK

BRUSHY CREEK

35

Cedar Park

1431

Jonestown

E

45 TOLL

Travis County

183A TOLL

Vista

MOPAC

N

SOURCES: TRAVIS COUNTY, WILLIAMSON COUNTY—COMMUNITY IMPACT

Measuring the impact Damage assessments of Travis and Williamson counties reveal areas, like Sandy Creek, with widespread losses to homes, roads and infrastructure.

Some context

The July ooding underscored longstanding vulnerabilities in areas like the Sandy Creek community—most notably the Big Sandy Bridge, the neighborhood’s only entry and exit point. Although the bridge was elevated less than a decade ago, it failed structurally during the July event. While the county was able to evacuate some residents after the storm, some survivors reported using wooden planks to evacuate the cut-o community. Walking in and out of the area was the only option for nearly 400 residents until a temporary bridge was established by the county nine days later. Initial weather predictions by the National Weather Service did not include northwestern parts of Travis County or southwestern Williamson County. The „rst ash ood warning, the agency’s highest alert message, was issued at 1:30 p.m.

July 4; however, the warning did not include com- munities in and surrounding Leander or Liberty Hill. Furthermore, the ash ood warning was canceled for both Travis and Williamson Counties later that afternoon. NOAA reached out to the Travis County Sheri ’s OŽce just before midnight July 4, asking oŽcers to check for signs of high water in the Big Sandy or Cow Creek areas. As a result of con„rmed roadway ooding, the county asked the agency to escalate its messaging for the area. The „rst ash ooding messaging that included areas like Sandy Creek were sent by NOAA at 12:01 a.m. July 5. Emergency Responders from multiple county emergency service departments were deployed. By 4:10 a.m., the water had risen 21.6 feet, according to data from the Lower Colorado River Authority, a regional water monitoring agency.

Williamson County

Travis County

Deaths

10

3

Debris removed

Greater than 338K cubic yards

Greater than 201K cubic yards

Total advisory messages sent

20

24

Damage reports to Texas Department of Emergency Management

230 submitted, 80 validated thus far as structures destroyed or having sustained major damage

175 submitted, 60 validated thus far as structures destroyed or having sustained major damage

NOTE: TDEM CONFIRMED 4,700 DAMAGE REPORTS SUBMITTED FROM ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS; 975 HAVE BEEN VALIDATED AS DESTROYED OR HAVING SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE

SOURCES: TRAVIS COUNTY, WILLIAMSON COUNTYƒCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

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