Texas towns along Interstate 10 face the might of Tropical Storm Harvey
Dallas Morning News Charles Scudder, Staff Writer August 28, 2017
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All the rain has to go somewhere. It fills creek beds and ditches by the highway. It expands the mighty rivers that crisscross this part of Southeast Texas, forcing residents to flee for higher ground.
Interstate 10 from San Antonio to Houston crosses four of those rivers: the Guadalupe near Seguin, the San Marcos near Luling, the Colorado in Columbus, and the Brazos just past Sealy. The last three are all flooding, says the National Weather Service. As the water keeps rising, the rivers are bound to break their banks.
Travelers on this highway are left to the mercy of the rising rivers, hoping there’s not a flood around the next bend. And those who live in the small towns along the Interstate, on a 47-mile stretch from Schulenburg to Sealy, must rely on the strength of their communities in the face of Tropical Storm Harvey.
Columbus
Jody Ripper has lived his whole life in Columbus, on the banks of the Colorado River. He’s seen floods before, sure, but never this much water rushing through town.
He’s the city’s utilities supervisor, which means his phone rings and his radio crackles as he drives around his hometown in a city truck. Huge trees have been knocked down due to soggy soil and tough wind. Power lines are snapped. The river is still rising.
“It kinda surprised us,” he says with a local accent that has just the slightest hint of Cajun twang. “We were looking at a crest tomorrow. The water came up pretty fast.”
Big water. Muddy water. The kind of brown churning water that only comes when a river this size floods. Bad. Normally the Colorado River flows anywhere from 8 to 11 feet. Today it’s flowing at nearly 50 feet.
Ripper hopes things begin to settle down soon. He’s been at work since 6 a.m., although he’s on call 24/7. His radio crackles again. Another call for service.
Columbus Declared A Disaster
BY JASON B. HOGAN reporter@coloradocountycitizen.com | August 29, 2017 (
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Harvey brings historic flooding, evacuations and damaging winds to county
COLORADO COUNTY — Hurricane Harvey struck the Gulf Coast of Texas late Friday night and rain has yet to let up for most of the southeastern parts of the state, including Colorado County.
Voluntary evacuations and road closures — County Roads 105, 106 and 215, FM 949 and Highway 71 — amassed before Sunday’s end from nearly every municipality in the county, including Columbus, Eagle Lake and Weimar.
More than one-third of Columbus is considered a voluntary evacuation area following a Monday pronouncement by Mayor Dwain Dungen.
According to the mayor’s declaration, “imminent threat of loss of life and property from Hurricane Harvey” necessitated a “voluntary evacuation of all residents in areas adjacent to the Colorado River.”
The Oaks Assisted Living, which is in the evacuation area and lies next to the riverbed, evacuated its residents Monday. Some of the residents are at TLC.
Columbus and Rice independent school districts, along with St. Anthony Catholic School in Columbus, remain closed until Sept. 5, the day after Labor Day, due to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Weimar ISD and St. Michael’s Catholic School delayed their first day until Thursday.
Colorado County Commissioners still had their regularly scheduled meeting Monday.
At the time, commissioners wager conditions will last longer than it was anticipated, so it behooves residents to be prepared and vigilant. Forecasts
“Everybody, please, if you think you’re going to flood or get close, get out,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Darrell Gertson said. “This is serious. The (county) map shows inundation in places that have never flooded before.”
“One of the constituents asked me, ‘What should we do,’” Precinct 3 Commissioner Tommy Hahn told fellow commissioners. “It’s hard to realize that this is actually taking place because none of us seen it before. So, it makes it difficult for us, in our capacity, to tell you exactly what’s going to happen.”
The county website will maintain a list of updated road closures. There is also a link to statewide road closures at drivetexas.org with regular updates provided by the Texas Department of Transportation.
“The river is still expected to crest, right now, at 50.2 feet,” County Judge Ty Prause said. “Our historic crest is 51.6 from 1913. It obviously put a lot of water into the town of Columbus. I think it even backed up the town of Eagle Lake.”
At press time, the river was expected to crest at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Although, the county was already beyond 2016 flooding conditions earlier this week.
“We’re going to have to see it through but it will take its toll on property,” Prause said. “Our goal is to get through this without any loss of life or injury.”
Judge Ty Prause said Highway 71 at the La Grange bypass had already been closed during Commissioners Court Monday morning, and Highway 71 southbound of Columbus was added to the list of closures soon after, according to the Columbus Police Department Facebook page.
Eagle Lake City Manager Sylvia Rucka said voluntary evacuations began for the city Sunday.
“We’re just kind of waiting to see what happens just like everybody else,” Rucka said.
Mayor Mary Parr, according to Rucka, who had a conversation with the mayor early Monday morning, had not call for mandatory evacuations but administration was constantly reassessing probable dangers within the city limits.
The Weimar Veterans Hall, located at 503 Park Dr. in Weimar, is the primary shelter for county residents and has light snacks and water available. Brenda Gindler said the Subway of Weimar would donate sandwiches to the shelter once the restaurant reopens.