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Estudiantes y el campus de UT lidian con los daños después de la tormenta de invierno de la semana pasada

In the wake of severe ice storm damage last week and a disaster declaration issued by Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday, the UT campus and community is dealing with the lasting impacts of the storm including fallen tree branches and prolonged power outages.

 Abbott’s declaration was issued in seven central Texas counties, including Travis County, to provide assistance to people impacted by storm-related property damage and power outages. 

The Travis County Commissioners Court issued a disaster declaration on Feb. 4 to allow residents access to state and federal cleanup resources, later voting to prolong the order on Tuesday. 

UT Facilities updated the community on the continued storm recovery and cleanup process in a Tweet on Wednesday, stating landscaping crews are working to repair tree damage caused by heavy ice accumulation around campus.

“With at least 50% of trees (about 2,500) affected, it will take several months to complete all the restoration work … we did not incur any total tree failures from this disaster,” the Tweet said.

Students reported car damage from falling tree branches last week. A TikTok created by environmental engineering senior Presley Simmons went viral with over 2 million views in one week. Barstool Longhorn, which is affiliated with Barstool Sports, posted the video to its Instagram page. In the video, a tree in West Campus crushed a Toyota Tacoma parked on Nueces Street.

“My friend’s car froze over and she called me to see if I had an ice scraper, which I did,” Simmons said. “So I was on my way to go rescue her because her car was all iced over, and I was headed down Nueces and I got stuck in my tracks with a tree in the middle of the road. And I rolled (down) my window … and I just pulled out my phone and started recording.”

University alumnus Anthony Matthews stayed at the Moxy Hotel on Guadalupe Street and parked his car on San Antonio Street. He said he “didn’t think much about” the impending storm until he got a notification saying something set off his car alarm. He was told by an adjuster at the insurance company that fixing the damage would cost about $1,300.

“I just parked it there and next thing you know trees are falling and the ice is getting heavier,” Matthews said. “I see a freaking tree on my car and I’m like, ‘Are you joking me?’ I run downstairs, go to the car and a pretty big tree branch fell on top of the Tesla and cracked the sunroof.”

Austin Energy said in a Tweet that as of Wednesday, it does not expect power to be fully restored to all customers until Sunday based on current conditions.

At this time, residents including those in UT’s surrounding areas can report damages and get information about debris cleanup in their area via a Travis County Emergency Management portal.  

Travis County offers a debris drop off for fallen tree branches and other large brush at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant.