Reply #63: And That Is Exactly What You Should Worry About In Austin!!! [View All]

Austin is not well-equipped to deal with the kind of hard-driving fast and furious rainfall that can well be expected from Rita.

As I and others who live..or have lived, in Austin have pointed out...the ground in austin is dry and hard-packed, it doesn't do well with torrential dounpours, the ground cannot soak up the water fast enough, and that causes flooding. Austin is VERY prone to flash flooding.

Additionally, being as Austin is surrounded by mountains to all but the East Side...and that the ground actually rises from downtown to the East before levelling off...there is nowhere for the water to really drain TO.

Town Lake ends up overrunning it's banks, and fifth and Sixth Streets get massive flooding. The only conduit for the water out of Austin is downstream, via the Colorado River...which Town Lake is a part of.

Anyway, the areas around Shoal Creek, The Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and near the airport, and Montopolis are all very prone to severe flooding, even without a hurricane! Hell, I remember three years ago when Lamar Boulevard, downtown, near Shoal Creek....was under FIVE FEET of water. And the official rainfall total that time was in the neighborhood of 5 to 7 inches. Now, imagine what Hurricane Rita might do...especially if it dumps, say 12 to 15 inches, and it may well do that!

I'm praying for you, Austin! I may have had to leave town for economic reasons, but you are still my hometown at heart, and I wish I could've stayed...you're home in my heart, and I'll be praying for y'all in Austin!