Less than one month after I moved to Georgia, I shot out of bed early in the morning to the sound of a siren. It honestly seemed like it was right outside of my window.
When I first heard it, I couldn’t put a finger on what it meant. I opened my blinds and scoured the outside trying to find what kind of person would try to pull a prank that hour of the morning. You can probably tell I don’t think too straight when I wake up.
Once I checked my phone and turned on the TV, I realized it was a tornado siren — not a practical joker. Tornadoes had touched down around the Atlanta area and the forecasters predicted the weather system would head to the Classic City next.
I never heard a tornado siren in the six-plus years I lived in San Marcos, Texas.
Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind and called home. Yes, there was 29-year-old me frantically pacing around my apartment with my mom on the line.
Long story short, nothing happened. The cell passed right by Athens.
Come to think of it, I never experienced any severe weather while living in the Lone Star State. An inch of ice on the ground is treacherous, but nothing more extreme.
Old-timers in San Marcos always brought up “The 100-Year Flood” as to the worst disaster to hit the city. Being situated between two rivers — the San Marcos and the Blanco — I had no doubt in my mind that it could be horrible if the rains came down.
Well, they finally did over the weekend and the aftermath is/was devastating.
Thousands of residents in San Marcos and Wimberley were displaced and hundreds of homes washed away in the flash floods. Power is slowly being restored daily.
The apartment complex where I used to live in San Marcos flooded. It was situated less than 2,000 feet from the Blanco River, which crested at 41.5 feet on Sunday.
My heart and thoughts go out to my former co-workers, friends and others affected by this past weekend’s floods. Pictures probably do no justice to what transpired.
