ROUND ROCK, Texas —
A Round Rock woman said she and many others in her neighborhood are still repairing damage from a hailstorm that hit back in September.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm that hit Travis and Williamson counties on Sept. 24 caused the most costly damage ever to hit the Austin region. The NWS said the losses from the storm for the two counties added up to about $600 million – about $300 million for Travis County and $300 million for Williamson County.
Tanya VanMeter, who lives in the Somerset Subdivision in Round Rock, said her area got hit pretty hard.
"It's the worst I've ever seen. I've lived here my whole life, and I've never seen hail like this before, ever in my life," VanMeter said. "The whole neighborhood was a war zone. Literally, it looked like bombs have gone off."
She has insurance but said she's seen part of that cost herself, already having to pay more than $7,000 out of pocket for repairs.
Vanmeter said she had two cars totaled, severe damage to her house and only just got her patio roof repaired this past weekend. And work still needs to be done, pushing back her other plans.
"I was hoping to retire and move to Colorado. But now I have to deal with this and keep going ... You have to start over again," VanMeter said.
One of her biggest concerns is why the County or City of Round Rock didn't issue a disaster declaration or anything to help the people who were hit the hardest.
A spokesperson for Williamson County said after the County's assessment, the dollar amount for the damage wasn't enough to issue a declaration.
But VanMeter believes that isn't fair.
"Did they just, did they survey up in here? Because from all of the contractors I've spoken to, they said that this is the worst area that was hit," she said.
She described the night of the storm as hectic. She said she sat in her home and watched her vehicles and house get destroyed by hail that got up to softball or grapefruit-sized.
"When it was done, I cried for three days. It's just, I mean, you work your whole life to build your life and you're getting ready to retire, and now you have to start all over again. And it's just really hard," VanMeter said.
She said it's not too late to survey her area. Driving around the neighborhood, there are still many vehicles and homes with busted windows, dents and other damage from the hailstorm.