At 3:55 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 16, students and staff were ordered to immediately evacuate due to the possibility of flooding of Lady Bird Lake. The Lower Colorado River Authority was opening two floodgates between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. at the Tom Miller Dam, which is less than three miles from the school.

AISD’s Emergency Management Team ordered the evacuation because the streets might flood. The concern was how the students would get home if the streets had flooded. The LCRA was trying to control the flooding, the evacuation was a precaution. Cesar Chavez didn’t end up flooding, but this was an emergency. Precaution was taken in the event of an emergency.

“When severe weather occurs, the top priority for Austin school district leaders is to keep our students, staff, and families safe,” Superintendent Paul Cruz said.

An announcement was made over the P.A. system by Principal Amy Taylor within 10 minutes of her receiving the call, informing students and staff of the emergency evacuation. The announcement caused panic and uncertainty throughout the school.

“When I heard Ms. Taylor on the speaker, all I heard was ‘emergency,’ so I automatically thought we had a shooter, but when my class got quiet, I heard her say that the floodgates were opening, so I just ran out of my class to make sure everyone had a ride home,” junior Joey Tellez said.

Students on multiple accounts acted on the assumption of the misinterpreted broadcast reporting an emergency.

“At first I was nervous. I feel like the students went crazy; my entire class ran out the door,”  junior Isabelle Delcueto said.

Delcueto wasn’t the only student alarmed by the announcement.

“It wasn’t actually like a giant wall of water coming toward us, but it was still pretty scary when the first thing you hear out of your principal’s mouth is we have an emergency situation,” junior Adeline Sutherland said.

Immediately following the dismissal, an email was sent to parents informing them of the situation.

“We understand the situation was stressful for both students and staff. The response of our students, staff, and parents it is a testament to a strong Austin High community. Thank you so much for adapting to the fast-moving situation and helping us ensure the safety of our students and staff,” the Austin High Administration responded via email.

AISD police officers and campus SROs made sure students and staff were out of the building quickly. They then directed traffic and stayed on campus until all buses were boarded. A few students missed the first round of busses which returned within the hour to pick them up. The last students left campus at 6:00 p.m. Taylor did not leave until every student was picked up.  

“All in all, I was surprised how quickly people got out of the building,” Assistant Principal Steve Maddox said. The busses got here a little bit quicker, but that’s a tough situation because the drivers do the elementary route first, then middle school kids, and then finally to Austin High. I believe the district tried to get them to leave a little bit earlier, do something to try to get to Austin High faster than normal. They were here a little bit faster than normal.”

With rain and flooding expected to continue, campus administrators will update the Austin High community as soon as information becomes available.