AUSTIN, Texas — Two bodies recovered in Lady Bird Lake and Shoal Creek are believed to be the missing flood victims swept away during a weekend water rescue.
Tuesday afternoon, the man and woman were identified as 42-year-old Amado Ravelos and 43-year-old Tonya Conner.
Four people were caught in the flash flood in Central Austin early Saturday morning. Two managed to escape the fast-moving water. The other two were swept downstream from one of the most dangerous drainage culverts in Austin.
During the past several months, three people living on the banks of Hancock Creek have been caught in rising water and drowned.
“Three people in four months, as far as I can tell, just in District 7,” said Austin City Council Member Mike Siegel, who represents District 7.
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Siegel says one person drowned during a severe thunderstorm in May that created a microburst. Hancock Creek off Burnet Road received over two inches of rain in 15 minutes.
On Saturday, two people living in an encampment on the edge of the creek were swept away by fast-moving flood waters and drowned.
Despite the danger, more people experiencing homelessness are staking out spots along the creek that could put their lives in danger.
“If we displace people from a relatively safe sight and they’re forced to look for another site, these culverts are attractive places because they can be out of view,” said Siegel. “
Austin currently has a shelter bed for one out of every five people who are homeless. The rest have nowhere safe to go during extreme weather.
“How can we slow the passage of water from upstream in Austin as it goes down to the river?” said Siegel. “There are capital improvement projects that would detain water and make sure it flows more slowly. It would be less likely to flood and catch people unaware.”
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office is still determining the cause of death for both Ravelos and Conner.