A Year Later City Is Still Recovering

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A year after a fatal flood damaged hundreds of homes in central Texas, officials in Austin are still working to buy and tear down homes considered at risk for flooding.  

The 2013 Halloween floods, which reached up to 7 feet in some homes, damaged almost 660 buildings and killed three people in Travis County.

Some houses near Onion Creek have been abandoned by homeowners, while other residents have tried to rebuild their homes, undeterred by the threat of future floods.

The Austin American-Statesman (http://bit.ly/1toV7yJ ) reports that since the floods, Austin has three times approved money to buy out homes. The funds total $129 million to purchase 486 homes.

As of late October, a city spokeswoman says Austin has bought 100 houses and demolished 63 of them.