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A year after catastrophic flooding in Texas, the Sandy Creek neighborhood in northwest Travis County is still deep in recovery mode. We’ll tell you about a nonprofit that’s lending a hand.
How Central Texans are mobilizing to help after Venezuela was rocked by devastating earthquakes.
This week in Texas Music History: 1985 Austin punk music festival gets grungy in Dripping Springs.
And are you planning a Barton Springs visit this weekend? Are you tiptoeing in, or diving head first? ATXplained explores the best way to get into the chilly waters.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] But it’ll be one year tomorrow since torrential rains covered the whole country and central Texas, leading to catastrophic flooding and the deaths of at least 130 people. The neighborhood of Sandy Creek in northwest Travis County is still deep in recovery mode. We’ll tell you about a nonprofit that’s lending a hand. And tomorrow also marks one week since Venezuela was rocked by devastating earthquakes and the death toll continues rising. Far on the other side of the equator, central Texans are mobilizing to help out in whatever way possible. We’re going to take you to one of those efforts that’s on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:39] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:44] And are you planning a Barton Springs visit this weekend? If so, are you tiptoeing in or diving head first? Our ATXplained project jumps into the question. We’ve got the answer coming up next. That’s here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal, it is Friday, July 3rd. I’m your host Jerry Quijano, thank you for spending part of the day with us on KUT News. One year ago, torrential rains covered the hill country and central Texas, leading to catastrophic flooding and the deaths of at least 130 people. The neighborhood of Sandy Creek in northwest Travis County was hit hard, and the neighborhood is still deep in recovery mode. But a new non-profit is helping to speed things up. KUT’s Katie McAfee has the story.
Katy McAfee [00:01:42] Brandy Gerstner knew her home in Northwest Travis County needed work when she moved in 36 years ago.
Brandy Gerstner [00:01:47] We had rattlesnakes in the house, scorpions in the house, tarantulas in the house. The grass was taller than I was.
Katy McAfee [00:01:55] But she saw potential. Gerstner was never much of a city gal, and the double wide was in an ideal location, surrounded by the big Sandy Creek and covered by a thick canopy of trees. I thought, you know, I can make this pretty. She planted orchards, herb gardens, and started raising livestock. But last year, her decades of work were swept away in one night as floodwaters ravaged the neighborhood. One year later, she still hasn’t been able to rebuild her home. Gerstener is currently staying in a camper on the property. She says it’s been difficult negotiating with her insurance provider and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Brandy Gerstner [00:02:29] You’ve lost everything and all these entities are wanting proof of your address, proof of what you pay for your bills, bank numbers, they want so much information.
Katy McAfee [00:02:43] Her experience inspired her to co-found a new nonprofit, the Travis County Recovery Alliance. The TCRA will connect people affected by disasters with long-term aid, like housing and financial assistance. The group has partnered with 17 organizations that can provide assistance for folks when insurance companies or governmental organizations fall short. TCRA’s executive director Janice Bookout hopes the nonprofit will help people make meaningful progress rebuilding their homes in Sandy Creek. She’s noticed dozens of families like Gerstner struggling. Even after getting some governmental assistance.
Janice Bookout [00:03:15] FEMA only provides a percentage. That’s just the way FEMA works. It’s not designed to make people whole, to make households whole. And there’s a lot of people that get left out on the basis of eligibility.
Katy McAfee [00:03:25] Bookout says recovery for families has also been delayed because there’s a lot of red tape to cut through. People have lost important paperwork, don’t have flood insurance, or need a permit to rebuild their homes.
Janice Bookout [00:03:36] There’s a lot of folks that need an RV replacement so they can go back to living where they were, you know? But sometimes those are borrowed or inherited or like the title never changed over.
Katy McAfee [00:03:47] Bookout says her main focus is helping people in Sandy Creek recover. But if another disaster strikes, she says TCRA will be ready to respond on day one. She says the group will help designate a central location for people to meet, coordinate volunteer services, and connect residents with long-term recovery resources. The TCRA, will respond to natural disasters like floods and wildfires, but it could also help folks during less visible emergencies. Bookout, says a group like this one could have been helpful in 2022. When residents grappled with a nationwide baby formula shortage. Her vision is sharply different from the way recovery operations looked last year in Sandy Creek. Immediately after the flood, Brandi Gerstner says many residents coordinated their own volunteer services.
Brandy Gerstner [00:04:30] There was no government entities out here. There was not county, state, federal, anybody out here in the beginning. It was literally neighbors helping.
Katy McAfee [00:04:41] Looking back, Travis County Judge Andy Brown wishes the county deployed some resources to the area faster, but he says legal requirements slowed the process down.
Judge Andy Brown [00:04:50] We have to follow all sorts of laws. When we’re under a declared disaster, it does help things go faster, but we still have to sign agreements with anyone doing anything really, because we don’t want somebody out there that is gonna harm people or steal from people.
Katy McAfee [00:05:04] But Brown says with just one umbrella organization to sign off on, it’ll be easier for the county to send out resources to a community the next time a disaster hits. I’m Katie McAfee in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:21] Tomorrow also marks one week since Venezuela was rocked by devastating earthquakes. The death toll there is more than 2,500 and continues rising. And though this disaster is on the opposite side of the equator, Central Texans, that is, are mobilizing to provide humanitarian relief. QUT’s Gabriel Velasquez-Nera has the story.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:05:50] We are currently standing at the Plaza de Toros R13, a Mexican-owned venue in southeast Travis County. And you’re listening to volunteers from the Austin Venezuelan Association. The Mexico vs. Ecuador World Cup game is about to start, and the organization is partnering with Spanish-language radio station 107.7, La CETA, to try to raise funds. Volunteers are asking for donations, and they’re pitching it as a good luck charm for the upcoming game. How many balls do we have here? How many? Five!
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:06:24] At the same time, Mexican radio host Jaime Zapatero, known as El Pato, urges his followers online to come to the game and donate. In late June, Venezuela had back-to-back earthquakes, with a magnitude more than seven. According to reports from NPR, more than 2,000 people are dead and 11,000 are injured. It’s led to a mobilization of the Latino community in Austin. Pato says once they asked him to help, it was all hands on deck.
Jaime Zapatero [00:06:55] And the truth is, we said, let’s help. We’re ready to help. And that’s why, on the weekend, Sunday, they asked me if I could put on the trailer to transport everything. I said, of course, there it is. The trailer is yours. Let’s do what we have to do. Let’s go to the Pachuca people.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:07:12] After the disaster, the Austin Venezuelan Association began organizing local donation drives, with business owners and volunteers giving time and resources to help in any way they can. Just last weekend, they raised 70 pallets worth of donations, according to the director of the organization, Elizabeth Gunz.
Elizabeth Gunz [00:07:29] We’re very grateful to everybody. On Sunday, we had Peruvians, we have Mexicans, we have people from the United States, Italians, name it. I mean, a lot of people has helped out a lot, and we’re very, very grateful.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:07:45] The donations are still going strong. At the Plaza de Toros R13, El Cestrada dropped off donations including food, medicine, and dog food. She said may God help them and she hopes people donate. They want to put a grain of sand to help them.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:08:04] One business helping is Shermoo, a moving company. Jose Mata, the owner, says he cried for three days after hearing the news. Mata paused his company’s operations and is lending its warehouse to help with donations.
Jose Mata [00:08:16] It has some impact in the business but we basically we don’t care and it is nothing compared with the impact that the earthquake had in Venezuela.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:08:29] Inside the warehouse, there are about 20 volunteers. All the goods that are sorted, packaged, and wrapped will be sent to Miami, where they will make their way to Venezuela, according to Matan.
Jose Mata [00:08:38] We don’t know each other, and this is my warehouse, but every day I have 20, 30, 40 people just helping out and, you know, making sure that this helps all the aid goes.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:08:49] To the right place. You can help by donating to the organization’s GoFundMe or find details on volunteer opportunities by visiting the Austin Venezuelan Association’s website and social media pages. I’m Gabriel Velazquez-Nera in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:04] And a few headlines for your day. A couple of Austin streets look a bit different today. City crews paved over the Texas mural on Guadalupe Street by UT’s West Mall and the Black Artists Matter mural on East 11th Street that was yesterday. The state ordered the city to remove the art or else face losing federal transportation funds. Austin City Council has recommended consulting firm Public Works LLC to conduct an efficiency audit of municipal departments. This comes as the city faces a $122 million budget deficit. Council will vote later this month on whether or not to hire the firm. And gas prices have jumped ahead of this 4th of July weekend. AAA Texas reports the average price for a gallon of regular in the Austin area is $3.37. That’s up 16 cents from yesterday. We’ve got more Austin Signal after this break. Welcome back, this is Austin Signal. The final round of 32 matchups in this year’s World Cup take place today. The host countries have all advanced past the first knockout stage of this year expanded tournament field. Canada will face Morocco tomorrow in Houston. Mexico will face England in Mexico City, that’s on Sunday night. And the United States will face Belgium on Monday. Let’s hear from KUT’s Jimmy Moss about the teams that’ll be rounding out the field of 16.
Jimmy Maas [00:10:28] Lionel Messi returns to the pitch with defending champs Argentina as they face Cape Verde. Seemingly everyone’s favorite Cinderella, Cape Verdes has already made history just reaching the knockout stage, but stopping Messi in what may be his World Cup swan song is a tall order. But first, Australia takes on Mosala and his Egypt squad, neither country has ever won a playoff game at the World Cup. Then later, Columbia and Ghana tangle in Kansas City. The Nightcap will feature two teams with dangerous attacking talent. In Thursday’s action, Spain finally shook off years of knockout round frustration, picking up their first World Cup playoff win since 2010. Mikhail Oyatharbov scored two goals on the way to a comfortable three nil win in Inglewood. Then the match of the day, Croatia and Portugal. Croatia led one nil in the second half before Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a penalty kick to tie the game, his first ever World Cup knockout goal. Gonzalo Ramos then broke hearts in Toronto with a stoppage time header to go ahead 2-1. Croatia thought they’d equalize just a few minutes later, but a video review denied the goal for offside, sparking fan frustration, and objects were thrown onto the Toronto pitch. It was also likely the final World Cup appearance for 40-year-old Luka Modrić. Portugal now moves on to face Spain in the round of 16. And late last night, Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 in Vancouver. I’m Jimmy Moss.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:57] Howdy podcast listeners, we can’t include our segment this week in Texas Music History in this podcast because of music streaming rights, but if you want to keep up with Texas Music History, and we know you do, not to worry, just head on over to KUTX.org. We haven’t yet hit the triple-digit mark in temperatures around here, but it’s still shaping up to be a scorcher of a 4th of July for Austin and Central Texas. That’s not uncommon, of course, and thankfully we have enough bodies of water to find a cool place to chill out. There is one pool in Austin, though, that’s much more chill than the others, and that’s raised a question among Austinites and visitors alike. What is the best way to get into Barton Springs? Do you dive right in, or do you ease on in? Well, we got this question a while back for our ATXplained project. KUT’s Matt Largie has the story.
Matt Largey [00:12:48] So you might want to take a dip in Barton Springs or something like that. That pool is a constant 70 degrees. It’s refreshing on a hot day, at least after you get over the shock of getting in. And that was on the mind of Susan Summers-Willett, who asked a question about Barton’s Springs for A to Explain.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:13:04] What method is the best way to get into the icy waters of Barton Springs.
Matt Largey [00:13:10] Do you think we’re going to come to a definitive conclusion here?
Susan Summers-Willett [00:13:14] I don’t know, because people have strong opinions about this.
Matt Largey [00:13:17] People do have opinions, but maybe it’s about more than that.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:13:20] I’ve always wondered about this question just in terms of science and physics and biology.
Matt Largey [00:13:26] Yeah, cause it’s not like a straight up personal preference thing. It seems like there’s a real scientific answer here, maybe.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:13:31] Right, but your personal preference definitely influences your experience of getting into the pool. You know, there’s the science and then there’s a psychology.
Matt Largey [00:13:41] Does science hold the answer to a less uncomfortable entry into 70 degree water? Or is it simply about mind over body? Man, this is…
Susan Summers-Willett [00:13:50] So deep. It really is. I mean it like touches on all the big areas of life. Physics, psychology, sociology, friendships, pain tolerance. It’s a lot. Let’s get into this.
Matt Largey [00:14:12] Ok, so what are our options for getting in the pool?
Susan Summers-Willett [00:14:14] There are two main methods for getting into the pool. One is the jump in and dive for 30 seconds method because you feel like you’re dying.
Matt Largey [00:14:24] Jeez, yeah, that sounds horrible.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:14:26] And the other method is what my friend Austin calls the slow march toward frigid truth.
Matt Largey [00:14:39] We’ll march toward that frigid truth in a minute, but Susan prefers to just jump in.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:14:44] When you jump in, you just feel it all at once.
Matt Largey [00:14:46] So we head down to the deep end. We find an empty space in the water. Susan steps to the edge, and she just kind of stands there.
Matt Largey [00:14:54] What are you thinking about?
Susan Summers-Willett [00:14:56] When you’re standing on the edge of the pool. I look at all the people in the pool, and I think about how much fun they’re having. You know, like, I just think, you know, I want to be like that person.
Matt Largey [00:15:08] I don’t know, you look down at the water and what are the sensations that you imagine?
Susan Summers-Willett [00:15:13] Thousands of knives stabbing your body.
Matt Largey [00:15:18] She stands there for another minute, and then. Three, two, one.
Matt Largey [00:15:29] Susan comes up looking shocked. She’s clearly uncomfortable. Woo, Lord!
Matt Largey [00:15:37] Before we go any further, let’s back it up. So what’s actually happening to your body when you jump into Barton Springs? Let’s listen to Susan’s jump again with help from Dr. Christopher Zeibel. He’s the medical director of the emergency department at Delceit Medical Center.
Dr. Christopher Zeibel [00:15:53] Remember that you’re 98 degrees, and so 70 degrees is almost 30 degrees away from where you are. Three, two, one.
Dr. Christopher Zeibel [00:16:05] The first thing that happens is you feel that shock to the system, arteries and veins in your skin will immediately constrict, things will also stiffen up, the heart rate slows down and the blood pressure falls a little bit.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:16:18] It’s still cold.
Dr. Christopher Zeibel [00:16:20] Designed to help protect people from lots and lots of activity that would create currents that would wash away your body heat.
Matt Largey [00:16:31] At this point you might be saying, but Matt, 70 degrees isn’t that cold. 70 degrees is actually quite comfortable. Room temperature is like 72 or something like that. Well, the thing is, water is a much better conductor of heat than air.
Dr. Christopher Zeibel [00:16:44] So when you get down into the water, your body heat will float through the water away from your body much better than it does in the air. So your body being 98 degrees, the water being 70 degrees, that’s a very steep gradient through which the heat will leave your body very quickly.
Matt Largey [00:17:00] That’s gonna happen no matter how you get in. So, let’s check out another way. Could I get you to introduce yourself?
Tracy McCasker [00:17:07] Tracy McCasker.
Matt Largey [00:17:09] Alright, you live here in Austin?
Tracy McCasker [00:17:10] I do live here. I’ve been here about 20 years.
Matt Largey [00:17:12] You’ve been coming to Barton Springs all that time?
Tracy McCasker [00:17:14] Um, when I can, yeah.
Matt Largey [00:17:15] I found Tracy near the shallow end of the pool, about to get in. She doesn’t always get in down here, she likes to mix it up. So it’s different every time, sometimes you use the stairs, sometimes you jump right in, what do you do?
Tracy McCasker [00:17:25] I think it’s just the mood and how you’re feeling about it.
Matt Largey [00:17:28] How are you feeling today?
Tracy McCasker [00:17:29] Slow entry, very slow entry today.
Matt Largey [00:17:35] Tracy stands at the top of the stairs at the shallowest part of the pool. I ask her to count the steps down.
Tracy McCasker [00:17:40] Okay, one, two, three.
Matt Largey [00:17:44] Four, five, six. She tenses up.
Tracy McCasker [00:17:49] Ha, cold seven and eight.
Matt Largey [00:17:51] Arteries and veins contracting, blood pressure definitely falling.
Tracy McCasker [00:17:55] It’s very slippery. Okay, I’m gonna I’m going to drop it Okay, ready? Oh, it’s so cold, so cold.
Matt Largey [00:18:12] There are other options, like the ramp, where I find Andrew Feenstra. It’s going to be slow and probably a little painful. Perfect. That’s why we’re here. We’ll work through it.
Matt Largey [00:18:22] He starts down the ramp.
Andrew Feenstra [00:18:23] So yeah, this is where you gotta kinda hurry into the water cause your feet are starting to burn a little bit. Last thing you wanna do is slip and fall in front of everybody. Then you burn your hand on the rail as you go. Oh, it’s cold. It’s always cold. We’re about to get to the worst part right now too. Woo, woo, my voice gets a little higher. This is where we just gotta, we just got to get in.
Matt Largey [00:18:50] Okay, one more, the buddy system. Sometimes it helps if you’ve got a friend that’s counting on you to jump when they jump. I find two girls on the edge of the deep end.
Girl 1 [00:18:57] I don’t want to jump in and then you don’t jump in with me. She might be pushing you. This is me. Ready?
Girl 2 [00:19:07] Wait, we’ve been at this for like 15 minutes. No, it’s been like-
Matt Largey [00:19:11] You’ve been at this for 15 minutes?
Girl 2 [00:19:12] No, it’s been five. It’s been 5 minutes.
Matt Largey [00:19:15] It feels like 15.
Girl 2 [00:19:16] It does, my feet are burning.
Matt Largey [00:19:19] This goes on for a minute.
Girl 2 [00:19:20] Okay, ready? One, two, three.
Matt Largey [00:19:26] Finally, you can jump in style on the diving board. I find our question asker, Susan, still in the pool near the diving board. Did we get everything?
Susan Summers-Willett [00:19:36] You know, I think that covers the major methods for getting in. I mean, then of course the question is where you get in.
Matt Largey [00:19:42] Which side? How deep?
Susan Summers-Willett [00:19:43] So it’s a major philosophical question.
Matt Largey [00:19:48] I don’t know if we’re going to be able to answer that one.
Susan Summers-Willett [00:19:50] But at least we can do the science. We can do science. I’m curious about the science
Matt Largey [00:19:55] Is there an ideal way to get into Barton Springs, like from a medical perspective, in terms of creating the least discomfort?
Dr. Christopher Zeibel [00:20:04] Boy, if there is, I haven’t figured out what it is yet. Dr. Christopher’s.
Matt Largey [00:20:07] Bell again, so it’s really just a personal preference.
Dr. Christopher Zeibel [00:20:09] It really is, there’s not a medically right answer to that question of how do you get into cold water. I think it’s whatever way works for you, works.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:18] That story was reported by KUT’s Matt Largie for our AT Explained project. You can catch up on all the questions that have been answered on the AT Explain podcast and you can ask your own at kut.org. That is it for today’s show. Rene Chavez is our technical director. Alexandra Hart is our producer. Kristin Cabrera is our managing producer, I’m your host Jerry Quijano, and today we want to close with a special thank you to Casey Cheek who’s off to shine elsewhere. We are going to miss you buddy, but we’re incredibly thankful for the things you’ve taught us and the time we have been able to spend with you. Spend that time with your loved ones, be safe this weekend, and hey guess what, Austin Signal was going to be back on Monday. We’ll talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
