Earlier today, a power outage threw a portion of the UT campus into darkness and KUT and KLRU off the air. The outage was caused by a small animal who got into a switch gear at the UT power plant. During the outage, one unfortunate person had to be rescued from an elevator at the ATT Conference Center. Power was restored after 1.25 hours and KUT (as well as KLRU) was back on the air at 8:30am. [KUT] more ›

While the final figures are just now coming out, last week already seems like a distant memory. Estimated amount, in cubic yards, of sanding material used to clear street locations: 1,349 Austin Energy customers who experienced a power outage: 35,000 Water mains repaired by Austin Water Utility: 16 Calls to EMS dispatchers and Austin Fire Department: 2,133 Calls to 311: 11,370 Collisions reported to the Austin Police Department: 599 Estimated number of canceled flights... more ›

The storms that slammed Austin last night cut a sizeable swath of destruction, uprooting trees, flooding major streets (we might as well have been swimming down South Lamar last night) and knocking out power across the city. The Statesman reports that roughly 17,000 customers remain without electricity as of 10am on Friday, with KXAN quoting Austin Energy saying that repairs may take up into nighttime. The Austin-Travis County Emergency Conditions Information Page lists several schools closed owing to the power outage, and the following roads remain closed:

Future Austinist writer Michael Favia sent us a text just minutes ago, letting us know that a massive power outage is creeping across South Austin. Apparently Austin Energy says that the outage is "known" and "big" -- and it's centered around Barton Springs and Lamar, which, dammit, is right next to where we live. It's not surprising, considering that when we got in our car at lunchtime the thermostat was in the high 90s and news outlets are reporting record highs. more ›