HISD’s press office has sent out the following information:
HISD emergency crews have been working hard all day to deal with weather and water-related issues at close to 40 of the district’s 305 schools. Most of the issues involved water getting into some classrooms and hallways. Our crews continue to work to get schools ready for summer school classes tomorrow, weather permitting.
At this point, we believe schools will be ready for summer school classes tomorrow — WEATHER PERMITTING. However, flood waters around the Hobby airport area have prevented us from checking for damage at some schools, and that work will continue throughout the evening. HISD will make a final decision on summer school classes sometime overnight as we monitor weather conditions.
One of the biggest problems we had today was at the HISD Police Department, 6922 Plum Creek. The basement floor of the police department had 10 feet of water, and telephone and computer equipment was damaged. The police department’s phone system was knocked out for a time and about 30 patrol cars were surrounded by high water. None of the cars was reported to be seriously damaged, and most of the HISD Police Department operations have been relocated to HISD’s emergency operations center at 228 McCarty. Most police cars have been moved to higher ground around the city, and the HISD Police Department remains operational. Police radio communications were not affected by the storm.
About 150 school buses housed at the transportation facility at Barnett Stadium have been moved to higher ground near Delmar and Butler stadiums. HISD transportation officials report the buses required mostly minor cleanup after today’s flood, and they will be ready to pick up students Tuesday morning, weather permitting.
