Floods

If this summer’s special sessions were a midterm exam on disaster preparation, Texas lawmakers would probably get an A. But their final grade will depend on how changes are actually implemented — and how quickly that happens.

When the governor called the Texas Legislature into special session after July’s historic floods, he topped his priority list with passing bills to better prepare the state for future natural disasters. Here’s a look at six new measures lawmakers just passed.

Time is running out to apply for financial help and get debris picked up from your property.

The footprints were created some 115 million years ago, when what is now a Central Texas suburb was a beach on the Western Interior Seaway.

Federal and state disaster declarations allow the county to raise taxes without voter approval. The average Travis County homeowner would pay about $200 more in property taxes than the previous year.

Hundreds of family photos are being restored by the Austin Disaster Relief Network. But for many people affected by the floods, the majority of their personal possessions are still missing.

A panel of Texas House and Senate lawmakers held a joint meeting Wednesday where they discussed the state’s response to the devastating July 4 flash flooding that left more than 130 dead.

A washed-out Guadalupe River appeared stuck in time nearly two weeks after the catastrophe. Large trees laid on their sides, and debris lingered throughout what was left.

Hundreds of pets have been reported missing after the devastating floods in Central Texas. Volunteers have been combing through debris to help reunite them with their owners.

A system of dams and reservoirs was designed to hold in floodwaters. Crews monitor the water coming into the system and figure out when to store or release it downstream to decrease flood risk.