Austin Texas News

AUSTIN, Texas — Volunteering or donations, many of you might be wondering exactly what you can do to help out those who are affected by Hurricane Laura. First, they need volunteers. People to help out with those coming into Austin from the Gulf Coast. “There’s a lot of different opportunities where you can work directly with clients, as well as support the operation behind the scenes,” explained Reihaneh Hajibeig with the Central and South Texas Red…

Cars lined up at Circuit of the Americas on Wednesday as people waited to find out if Austin would have enough room to shelter them. AUSTIN, Texas — Cars full of people evacuating from the coast headed to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in hopes of getting a hotel voucher to shelter from Hurricane Laura.  Officials said the City had to start turning people away around midnight. They were able to reopen again and had…

The City of Austin is working to open a portion of the convention center to serve as a shelter for Hurricane Laura evacuees. The shelter should open either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, Juan Ortiz, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Austin, said during a news conference. He said it will have 135 shelter spaces that follow CDC and FEMA guidelines for safe distancing during the pandemic. The alternate care site for COVID-19 patients that’s…

A group of families in the Hill Country escaped Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 15 years ago. They found shelter and help in Texas. So, they built a life here. MARBLE FALLS, Texas — Inside the Real New Orleans Restaurant in Marble Falls, the staff serves up faith and good authentic Cajun food. You don’t have to look far to know the people there have survived their share of storms. “We came up because of Hurricanes…

Texas State University hosts dozens of Lamar University students as a Category 4 hurricane hits the Texas coast. AUSTIN, Texas — Dozens of Lamar University students in Beaumont had nowhere to go during evacuations until Texas State University stepped up. They are hosting 57 students and seven staff members as they are under a mandatory evacuation from their campus due to Hurricane Laura.  The Lamar University students arrived on the San Marcos campus Tuesday afternoon. Texas…

The Austin Convention Center’s capacity supports “135 shelter spaces,” officials said. AUSTIN, Texas — Central Texas’ hotel sheltering options for Hurricane Laura evacuees are full, according to the City of Austin. However, the City has opened the Austin Convention Center as a “traditional shelter setting” available to evacuees with the assistance of The Red Cross and Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).   The Austin Convention Center’s capacity supports 135 shelter spaces, officials said. The…

COVID-19 has left the nonprofit without its usual volunteers. AUSTIN, Texas — Austin, Travis County, Williamson County and Hays County activated the Capital Area Shelter Hub plan on Tuesday, preparing for up to 3,000 evacuees to arrive from Galveston. The coastal city issued a mandatory evacuation in anticipation of Hurricane Laura. Emergency planners designated the Circuit of the Americas as the reception center where all the evacuees must first go when they arrive to Austin…

AUSTIN, Texas — Central Texas’ hotel sheltering options for Hurricane Laura evacuees are full, according to the City of Austin. The City and Travis County have issued disaster declarations in response to the storm, but currently, the hotel sheltering options provided by the capital area regional partnership have reached capacity. The City said there may be hotels in the area available to evacuees who can pay for them. The City is encouraging evacuees to head…

Abbott said Hurricane Laura was expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane and would be “quite severe” with very powerful winds. AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott gave an update at on the State’s response to Hurricane Laura as the storm barrels toward the Texas-Louisiana coast.  Abbott said Hurricane Laura was expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane and would be “quite severe” with very powerful winds. He…

He told KVUE it took him five hours to get to the Austin intake facility where he was told to go to Dallas. AUSTIN, Texas — After opening its doors Tuesday afternoon, the Austin intake facility for Hurricane Laura evacuees reached capacity, prompting the facility to close. The intake facility, located at the Circuit of the Americas, was ready to take in up to 3,000 evacuees. However, COTA officials told KVUE they ran out of hotel…

COTA’s intake facility is now being used as a rest area for evacuees. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, COTA reopened its intake facility as a rest area for evacuees. Those seeking shelter are welcomed to wait at COTA until more hotel rooms become available on a first-come-first-served basis. The COTA intake facility said it ran out of hotel rooms early Wednesday morning one day after city leaders announced on Tuesday that Austin would be one…

Here’s how you can watch the governor’s press conference live. AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to give an update at noon on the State’s response to Hurricane Laura as the storm barrels down on the Texas-Louisiana coast.  You can watch the press conference live in the video above when it starts or on KVUE’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. In Abbott’s press conference on Aug. 25, he said Texas needs to be prepared…

Here’s how you can watch the governor’s press conference live. AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to give an update at noon on the State’s response to Hurricane Laura as the storm barrels down on the Texas-Louisiana coast.  You can watch the press conference live in the video above when it starts or on KVUE’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. In Abbott’s press conference on Aug. 25, he said Texas needs to be prepared…

He told KVUE it took him five hours to get to the Austin shelter where he was told to go to Dallas. AUSTIN, Texas — After opening its doors Tuesday afternoon, the Austin shelter for Hurricane Laura evacuees reached capacity, prompting the shelter to close. The shelter, located at the Circuit of the Americas, was ready to take in up to 3,000 evacuees. However, COTA officials told KVUE they ran out of hotel vouchers and had…