BURNET, Texas (KXAN) — Jennifer Nicholson remembers the moment floodwaters rushed into her home just after 5 a.m. on July 5.
She had woken up to her dogs crying and assumed the sound of the rain had scared them. She opened the door to show them it was only the rain.
“Instead, I showed him an ocean with currents and waves,” Nicholson said. “I promptly shut the door.”
The creek behind her house had overflowed with such force that it swept away her neighbor’s entire home, now sitting around 100 feet from where it once stood. To escape the floodwaters, Nicholson climbed into a ceiling crawlspace with her dogs and waited 40 minutes before the waterline receded.
“Most everything in here was all trashed,” she said, referencing her now bare living room. “My kitchen cabinets tore out. My desk, my shelves, my entertainment center -- It's all gone.”
While it was a terrifying scenario, Nicholson is not dwelling on it. All she wants to do is rebuild and get back to life as she knew it.
“They say I thrive in chaos,” she said. “I am very much a ‘get it done’ person, which is part of the reason why I can’t handle this.”
Delays in rebuilding
Before she can start making repairs, Nicholson said she must obtain the City of Burnet’s approval.
In a statement, the city called the July 5 flooding event the worst it had ever recorded. Officials say helping people return to their homes is a top priority, but properties that sustained substantial damage must be rebuilt in compliance with FEMA’s regulations.
“Under FEMA guidelines, if a structure in a floodway is found to be 50% or more damaged, it must be brought into compliance, often by being elevated above the base flood level or floodproofed,” the statement read.
The city said on Monday that its City Council approved hiring a consultant to conduct the “FEMA-required Substantial Damage Estimations (SDEs).”
“Beginning today, July 22nd, [our consultant] Streamline is deploying multiple teams with specialized expertise in FEMA protocols to begin evaluations. This is the first step toward the City being able to process building permit applications from residents and businesses,” the statement continued.
“While we know the process is frustrating,” the city continued. “It is essential to protect both current and future residents, and to ensure continued access to long-term federal funding support.
Until then, Nicholson said she and neighbors are stuck -- ready to work, but waiting for the green light.
“It feels like forever,” Nicholson continued. “And I keep telling everybody: idle hands do not suit me. I have to do something.”
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