TEXAS — To mark the one-year anniversary of the Texas Hill Country floods, Extreme Weather Survivors held a press call to release new survey data collected from Texas survivors on the long road to recovery after disaster.
Some of the data points: * 54% of Texas flood survivors felt they had been abandoned by the government during and after the event.
* 54% of Texas survivors faced emotional distress.
* 48% said they had to delay or forgo basic necessities due to recovery costs.
“ When the media cameras leave, and the spotlights fade, the real tragedy begins,” said Adial Carrizales, a Hill Country flood survivor. “The journey to recovery is a quiet, ongoing struggle where the heaviest burden of financial instability is shouldered long after the headlines have moved on. My family and I still face day-today recovery, trying to find our normal life again.”
Extreme Weather Survivors is a national network of individuals and families directly impacted by floods, wildfires, hurricanes, extreme heat, and other climate-fueled disasters.
“We haven’t been able to move back into our home because of the severe mold issues from the stormwaters going into our ceiling, and then eventually caving in our ceiling,” said Georgia Bishop, a Hill Country flood survivor.
“We’ve been renting another place, but that just adds a whole other level of stress to deal with. And as the anniversary approaches, it’s been especially hard because I lost my best friend that night,” Bishop added.
It was community and neighbors who came to the rescue, said one Hill Country survivor.
“ When the floods happened, it was my neighbors who were checking on each other, pulling each other out from their homes,” said Kylie Nidever, a Hill Country flood survivor. “In the days and weeks that followed, being out in the neighborhood, I never saw firsthand any government officials, with the exception of I think someone from the department of wildlife, who came in one evening and I think was measuring the water level.”
“The Hill Country is a beautiful and beloved destination in Texas, and roughly three-quarters of those who lost their lives were visiting from elsewhere,” said Chris Kocher, Co- founder and Executive Director, Extreme Weather Survivors. “Countless others survived traumatic evacuations that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, and the flooding, of course, also affected Hill Country residents themselves.”
“As a reminder, it doesn’t actually matter what people call it,” said Lama Hassoun Ayoub. “Extreme weather is here, and we’re living through it right now. The question is whether our systems will be ready.”
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