AUSTIN, Texas — Sai and Dustin Grant are reminded of their emotional and financial burden every time they step into their house along Mearns Meadow Boulevard in North Austin after floodwaters invaded their home during storms on April 20.
They no longer have a kitchen or flooring, and they are forced to sleep on an air mattress.
"Every little thing is hard, and we are living this way because we don't know how long any of this process is going to take," Sai Grant said.
Dozens of homes were impacted by the floodwaters and mirror the situation that the Grants are in. Fast-forward nearly a month later, and some residents argue that they have not seen enough help from City of Austin leaders.
"We've received three dumpsters on the street, a little Red Cross bucket and, again, not everyone's even gotten that. And most frustratingly of all, we got a letter that said we might potentially qualify for a low-interest loan," Sai Grant said. "Imagine if someone hit your car and says, 'Here, I'll let you borrow $100, but you have to pay me back $103 for the damages I cost.'"
The loan she is referring to is from the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). According to a flyer given to KVUE by Grant, it's a request form to qualify for eligibility for a disaster loan program.
On Thursday, during a scheduled city council meeting, the Grants and two other residents from the neighborhood expressed their concerns directly to councilmembers over the lack of progress being made.
"I'm here to give you insight into the financial burden that has been parted on us as the victims of this entirely preventable and man-made disaster," resident Ryan Albright said during his speech to the council.
Hours later, Councilmember José “Chito” Vela (District 4) attended a neighborhood meeting hosted by the North Austin Civic Association (NACA). There, he gave an update about the City's response and answered questions from residents.
According to Vela, at this point, he has only had conversations with the City and Watershed Protection Department about next steps.
Several issues brought up were the financial burden and whether residents should seek an attorney.
Vela said the City doesn't "traditionally" support victims of floods and natural disasters due to legal reasons and pointed to City programs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross.
But he said he wants to change that narrative.
"We need to change our attitude in the city," Vela said after the meeting. "We've got to make sure to help people when they encounter these types of really difficult situations."
When it comes to litigation, Vela said if someone feels they have been wronged, then that person should consult an attorney.
Since the storm, residents have put fault on the City, as they believe the situation was preventable.
Vela didn't answer whether blame should be 100% on the City, but said he wants to check where the City went wrong.
"I need to know more about exactly kind of what happened, what we did, what we didn't do. It's our responsibility to maintain and clean the creeks. That didn't happen in this case," Vela said.
Vela said he plans to look into where the City can step in without a legal boundary.
Many neighbors have blamed clogged storm drains as the cause of the flood and have mentioned making numerous requests to 311 to get the debris cleared.
Chris Meyer, division manager for the Watershed Protection Department, said the department had crews in the neighborhood ahead of the storms.
"Even though we had the crossings clear and channels were opened at the road, debris washes down during large rain events that can it can cause blockages, as we saw on April the 20th. So we know what the what the issue is. And so, we're continuing to work on on getting that resolved," Meyer said.
Since then, Meyer noted the department has been working around the clock and has been performing maintenance in the area. But he explained, "It's not a perfect system."
"If anything, this recent event highlighted more of the effect of the winter storm and our need to sort of tweak our response after these storm events," Meyer said.
KVUE asked Meyer whether the flooding was preventable.
"We can always improve. We can always improve our process," he said. "Whether something is preventable is – that's a difficult question."