Variety is the spice of life

We are rapidly approaching our two week anniversary of being in Austin. In this short period of time, we have been all over the city and beyond registering people for FEMA disaster assistance. Sometimes we work at an established FEMA unit, and sometimes we go door-to-door to register individuals.

Seeing the destruction in San Marcos and Wimberley, TX was very sad. Many people lost everything. I visited the home of one woman in particular who lost what had been the home of the past 3 generations of her family. Also lost inside were many priceless heirlooms; we had to try to convince her to stop entering the building, as the city had condemned it because it could topple over at any moment.

That was Hays County. There are 20+ counties declared in Texas now, and so my team has moved northward to Williamson County. In Georgetown and Round Rock there is a lot of wealth, though most people don't have flood insurance to cover what they lost during the past month. Because many people are underinsured, they may still be getting FEMA assistance.

To put icing on the cake, tropical storm Bill is predicted to be coming through Austin and the surrounding areas. So just as many people are making the repairs to their homes from the last storm, they must brace themselves for what could be another doozy. Anways, I guess the moral of the story is that no two days are the same when you are working at a disaster site.