Recovery efforts ramp up after catastrophic storm slams major US city: 'Turn around, don't drown'

An intense storm brought damaging hail and flooding to Austin, Texas, in late May, causing about 72,500 Austin Energy customers to experience power outages, reported Spectrum News 1.

What's happening?

In what's now being called one of the worst storms in Austin's history, the powerful thunderstorms that happened May 28 left destruction in their path, "with whole trees ripped down, extensive damage to homes, property, and electrical equipment," said Austin Energy Interim General Manager Stuart Reilly, per MySA.

Flooding was one of the biggest concerns, with the storm dumping inches of rain on Austin within about half an hour. According to Spectrum News 1, area emergency services urged residents to "turn around, don't drown" if they encountered flooding on the road.

Why weather events like this are becoming more extreme

Hurricanes, tornadoes, and other extreme weather events have been documented for centuries. They're not new. Yet, weather experts have noticed weather events worsening in intensity over the past several years and decades. NASA is just one of many organizations bringing this phenomenon to the forefront, noting a warming climate's impact on storms.

Here's the problem: Pollution caused by human activities, like driving gas-powered vehicles and manufacturing products in dirty fuel-reliant factories, traps heat in the atmosphere and increases global temperatures.

As a result, the environment gets thrown out of balance. Rising temperatures cause the atmosphere to hold more water, leading to more rainfall and increased flooding potential. That means more powerful and dangerous storms for communities, devastating damage to homes and businesses, and a higher chance of injury or death.

In the case of this Austin storm, one person died, reported MySA. But many other storms have also been deadly, including flood-causing storms in April that killed at least 25 and Hurricane Helene, which caused at least 249 deaths. Extreme heat is another concern, leading to over 3,700 deaths in 2024. 

What's being done to protect homes and families from extreme weather?

Researchers and experts are constantly looking for solutions to protect people from extreme weather. Some are experimenting with generative artificial intelligence models to predict storm flooding, while satellites can potentially spot wildfires before they spread to catastrophic levels.

But you can also make your home more resilient to the effects of extreme weather by switching to solar energy.

The federal government recently unfroze an incentive program with $7 billion in funding to encourage people to do just that. Solar is a clean form of energy that could also help you save significantly on your energy bills and make your home more resilient to power outages caused by extreme weather. If you need help locating an installer, turn to EnergySage to compare quotes from vetted local installers and save up to $10,000 on your installation.

Explore critical climate issues to learn more about how everyday actions contribute to a changing climate and affect the environment.

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