Judge Declares Williamson County Disaster Area After Flooding

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS — What was obvious by the tattered landscape became official this week: Williamson County was proclaimed a disaster area.

Williamson County Judge Dan A. Gattis issued a proclamation declaring a state of disaster for Williamson County on Monday, resulting from continued severe weather, flash flooding, and potable water outages that occurred on or about Oct. 15, officials said.

Gattis said the state of disaster will continue for no longer than seven days unless continued or renewed by the commissioners court.

Williamson County activated its Emergency Operations Center late Tuesday morning, and will remain active until the boil water notice is lifted. The county will work with the City of Austin to set up a point of distribution for water for the approximately 80,000 people in Williamson County currently under the boil water notice, officials said.

Moreover, the Office of Emergency Management also will work with Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD to assist them in obtaining water for their schools under the boil water notice, Gattis said. In the two school districts, 25 schools are affected, officials noted.

Related stories:

Nature's Fury: Central Texas Rain Leaves Destruction In Its Wake

36 More Texas Counties Declared Disaster Areas Amid Flooding

Travis County Judge Declares Region Disaster Area

Round Rock Tap Water Safe Post-Flood, Except At Some Schools

Cedar Park Drinking Water Safe, Unaffected By Austin Flood Woes

By declaring an area a disaster area, officials ease the process by which affected residents can secure state and federal aid. Gov. Greg Abbott previously both Williamson and Travis and 16 other counties as disaster areas in the immediate aftermath of last week's historic flooding, later adding 36 more to the list.

Get Patch's Daily Newsletters and Real Time Alerts

>>> Image via Shutterstock