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Cold Weather Resources in Austin
From the Office of Austin City Council Member Greg Casar
Published onFeb 19, 2021
Cold Weather Resources in Austin
COLD WEATHER RESOURCES IN AUSTIN, TX
This document was prepared by the Office of Austin City Council Member Greg Casar.
Share this document: bit.ly/austincoldresources
City of Austin Information: http://austintexas.gov/weatherinfo
Follow for updates: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
JUMP TO A SECTION:
NUMBERS & CONTACTS
Purpose | Phone Number / Contact |
Shelter Information | 512-305-4233 |
Transportation to a Shelter | 3-1-1 or email [email protected] |
If your water main is broken | 512-972-1000 |
Emergency Food | 2-1-1 |
Medical or Life Threatening Emergency | 9-1-1 |
Volunteer with Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN) | Sign up at https://bit.ly/keepaustinwarm 512-806-0800 |
RESOURCES
Department
Link
Austin Energy Outages
https://austinenergy.com/ae/outages
Austin Water Tips
TxDOT Highway Conditions
City of Austin Resource Site
http://austintexas.gov/weatherinfo
WWW Austin: Food, restaurants open, etc.
Where to find free drinking water in Austin
If you are currently without power:
Warming Centers & Shelters
The City has opened warming centers for those vulnerable Austinites who have gone without power, heat, or water. These are subject to change. For the latest please call 512-305-4233.
Bring food and blankets if you go to a warming center or shelter. Warming center and shelter locations sometimes have been moved out of areas because of lost water or power.
Northeast High School and Webb Middle School are currently not shelters because of water and power outages.
Church Shelters (open 24x7):
The Austin Stone, 1150 McNeil Rd., Round Rock, TX 78681
Point Community Church, (Pet accommodations - must be crated), 11300 Old San Antonio Road, Manchaca, TX 78652
Mosaic Church, (No pet accommodations), 12675 Research Blvd., Austin, TX 78759
Friendship Creekside, (Pet accommodations - must be crated), 14455 FM 1826, Austin, TX 78737
Hill Country Bible Church, (Pet accommodations - must be crated), 12124 Ranch Road 620 N., Austin, TX 78750
University Ave Church of Christ, (Pet accommodations - must be crated), 1903 University Ave., Austin, TX 78705
Hope Chapel, (Pet accommodations - must be crated), 1508 Ruth Ave., Austin, TX 78757
City of Austin Shelters (open 24x7):
People with pets will not be rejected. Pets will receive accommodation through Animal Services.
[AT CAPACITY] Palmer Events Center (Central), 900 Barton Creek Road, Austin, TX 78704
Del Valle High School (Southeast), 5201 Ross Road, Del Valle, TX 78617
Mendez Middle School, 5106 Village Square Drive, Austin, TX 78744
Reilly Elementary School, 405 Denson Dr, Austin, TX 78752
AFA Union Hall, 7537 Cameron Rd, Austin, TX 78752
City of Austin - Warming Shelters (9AM-9PM):
People with pets will not be rejected. Pets will receive accommodation through Animal Services.
Lee Elementary School - CENTRAL, 3308 Hampton Road, Austin, TX 78705
Murchison Middle School - WEST, 3700 N. Hills Drive, Austin, TX 78731
Joslin Elementary School, 4500 Menchaca Road, Austin, TX 78745
Barrington Elementary School, 400 Cooper Dr, Austin, TX 78753 (low water pressure in the bathroom at this location, may want to consider other locations)
UT Students: Visit https://emergency.utexas.edu/ for up-to-date information on warming centers, dining venues, and Student Emergency Services.
Tips While at Home
Stay warm by:
Layer up!
Keep freezers & refrigerators closed
Group together in one room and keep that room as warm as possible
Put blankets under doors to avoid heat loss, cover windows if possible
Keep your phone as charged as possible
Help prevent a system overload if you don’t have power:
Turn off thermostats and appliances if you don’t have power
Shut off or unplug any fixtures that are connected
Leave only one light on to know when the power is back on.
Please DO NOT:
Use a gas stove or oven for heat, this can cause carbon monoxide poisoning
Leave open flames (stoves, candles, fireplaces etc.) unattended
Sit in your car with the heat on in your garage, this can poison you
If you have power
Please help us conserve energy, which will help Austin’s electricity come back on:
Turn down thermostats to 68 degrees or lower if you can.
Turn off lights and unplug any appliances or electronics that are not being used.
Don’t run large appliances if you do not have to.
Use as little natural gas as possible to avoid a shortage
Also you can help by hosting a friend or neighbor in need, socially distanced and masked.
Austin Water:
Austin Water is asking all Austinites (who have water service) to reduce water use as much as possible, and to boil water before consuming it.
If people use too much water, it will only create more challenges providing clean water.
Even still, many people don’t have water or don’t have a way to boil it. More info below:
If you are without water:
As an emergency measure, if no other water is available, snow can be melted for water according to the CDC. Bringing water to a rolling boil for two minutes will kill most germs but won’t get rid of chemicals sometimes found in snow. If boiling snow for water, try capturing the freshest snow and avoid snow from roads, drains, or similar locations.
See if a report has already been made using the Water Leak Response Map If the leak/outage has not been reported, call 512-972-1000 immediately.
Turn on all your water faucets if your water is off, to avoid pressure building up in your pipes, leading to further issues.
If pipes at your home have burst, turn off your water at the cut-off valve. If you are unable to locate your valve call 512-972-1000 for assistance.
If you cannot boil water/ice because you’re without power/gas, and you don’t have water to drink, get to a friend or family member’s house and take COVID precautions, or get to a shelter if needed: bit.ly/austincoldresources
If you have water, you need to:
Boil your water, if you are able, for at least two minutes.
As an emergency measure, if no other water is available, snow can be melted for water according to the CDC. Bringing water to a rolling boil for two minutes will kill most germs but won’t get rid of chemicals sometimes found in snow. If boiling snow for water, try capturing the freshest snow and avoid snow from roads, drains, or similar locations.
Avoid showers or running large appliances like dishwashers or washing machines as much as possible
Turn off dripping faucets indoors and outdoors. Wrap your pipes with paper or newspaper instead.
Don’t store more water than you need for you/your family’s safety. If people use too much water, it will only create more challenges providing clean water for everyone.
If you cannot boil water/ice because you’re without power/gas, and you don’t have water to drink, get to a friend or family member’s house and take COVID precautions, or get to a shelter if needed: bit.ly/austincoldresources
It is unacceptable that people are in this position, and there must be accountability at every level of government about what has happened. But we must focus right now on getting through this, and the only way we can do that is together.
We are working on getting water to our community members. We will also demand all commercial consumers to cut down their usage. Our public employees are working around the clock on this. Contact Austin Water to report outages & follow them for updates.
Your water may be out because of a public water line being out, and Austin Water does not have information on when those will be fixed. Water may also be out because of damage to your own property, which needs to be fixed by a homeowner/landlord.
The City is bringing in truckloads of water from outside of Austin to distribute to those in need. Details will be released soon about this emergency operation.
Emergency Food Distribution for Friday
Navarro High School (1201 Payton Gin Rd)- 2:30p
Millennium Center (1156 Hargrave)- 2:30p
Dove Springs Rec Ctr (5801 Ainez)- 1:30p
Dailey Middle (14000 Westall)- 3p
Trucks of emergency water on the way, distribution operation coming soon.
We need volunteers
Warming Centers
The warming centers are staying open right now because of the generosity of volunteers. But not enough volunteers have signed up, and this threatens closure of the locations. For anyone who is able to volunteer at a warming center, please fill out the volunteer form (https://bit.ly/keepaustinwarm) for the Austin Disaster Relief Network or contact ADRN at 512-806-0800.
Even though the website says shifts are 12 hours long, you can volunteer for a shorter amount of time. Sign up for a shift, and let the staff know at the location how many hours you can stay. Dress warmly and drive safe if you volunteer. Thank you!
4x4/Off Road Vehicles
The City of Austin and Travis County needs 4x4/Off-Road Vehicles to help them transport emergency workers, goods, supplies and more to critical sites. Sign up to be on call: https://bit.ly/3bcUmoV
Where to Donate:
The Austin Area Urban League is hosting an emergency donation drive to aid in emergency support.
Austin Mutual Aid is raising funds to book hotel rooms for residents living outside without water or shelter.
The Texas-based Ending Community Homelessness Coalition has put together a list of organizations that are currently working to support unsheltered people in Austin and Travis County.
What is happening?
From Greg Casar, Austin City Council District 4:
1pm February 18th
Update I got from Austin Energy: AE employees are out in the cold trying right now to turn power on for those out the longest, especially the red areas on the outage map: https://austinenergy.com/ae/outages
AE is trying to get all the red areas power as quickly as possible *today.* Everything is dynamic and subject to change, especially if the state orders any more power off during this process or if there is really major storm damage to an area.
Anyone who is experiencing outages represented by a smaller individual dot on the outage map may be without power for longer periods of time as crews clear debris and address individual areas. Orange areas could get done today or may take longer depending on conditions.
If you do not see your household on the map, Austin Energy probably *does* know that you are out of power, but it still helps to report your outage here: https://austinenergy.com/ae/outages
Austin has experienced some of the most extreme versions of the extreme weather in the state, and that’s why it’s more difficult to get power back on compared to some other places in TX. ERCOT mandated outages and local infrastructure damage are both harder to address given conditions.
I have not yet been briefed by the water utility today. What is happening with our water system is terrible, and we will keep you posted on updates as we receive them. Make sure to follow Austin Water. Our guide has info for those without water/power: https://bit.ly/austincoldresources
1:15pm February 17th
According to Austin Energy: The state has now given Austin Energy permission to restore more customers. Austin Energy has now been able to restore 16 circuits (areas of homes). Customers who have been without power the longest are being prioritized. However, this power will NOT stay on indefinitely due to anticipated grid conditions continuing.
Remember, if your power was off and then your power comes back on, do NOT immediately crank up your thermostat, turn on every light or plug everything back in. Please give the circuit time to power up completely so it doesn’t shut down again. Read more here.
February 16th
The outages are largely caused by power plants, mostly natural gas-powered, across Texas getting shut down by extreme weather, while demand for energy has spiked. Without enough power on the grid, we risk electricity getting shut down for every person in Texas. In order to stop the entire state from having its power shut down for weeks, the state grid operator is ordering utility companies to shut off power: “blackouts.” These shut-off orders in Austin have not been “rolling” blackouts. The state has basically required, according to Austin Energy, longer-term shut downs.
Austin Energy says they are not able to turn “off” the circuits that are currently “on” (in order to provide relief to those who are freezing cold) because those other circuits that are “on” right now are either 1) sustaining a hospital, fire station, water treatment plant or 2) can’t be turned off without threat of the system not turning back on.
This situation is beyond unacceptable, and I’m furious. Our statewide power grid was severely underprepared for this crisis. Furthermore, communications at all levels of government have continued to fall short when the public needs us most.
I am asking for Austin Energy to turn on power for those in the cold as soon as possible, even if it’s only temporary. I am urging the City, County, and Governor to use emergency powers to turn off power for non-critical businesses to provide relief to more of our cold neighbors. Empty office towers and empty shopping malls should be turned off, so we can try to use that electricity to heat homes. We may not be able to do that for a whole circuit, for the reasons explained above, but we should do it for individual, large empty buildings.
On the other side of this storm, we must ask hard questions about what got us here, locally and statewide. We must hold people accountable. But for now, my focus is on helping people stay safe and getting power restored as we manage this crisis.
State authorities think this could last into the night and beyond for many Texans.
Last Updated: 8:30 AM on Feb. 19, 2021
