Restoration of Personal Belongings Retrieved from Texas Floodwaters

LEANDER (KXAN)— Personal items that are being recovered from the floods in Travis County, Texas are being stored and preserved at the Round Baptist Church in Leander. But they’re running out of space.

Now, community leaders are working to carefully move everything, and are looking for a permanent spot to take items for families to look for in the weeks to come.

On Wednesday, volunteers flipped through strangers’ photo albums, cleaned off mud and mold-covered photos and packed them in boxes.

“A lot of history, a lot of personal, livelihood, a lot of memories,” Sheila Peacock, a volunteer said emotionally.

The photos will need to be cleaned even more, once they’re transported to a larger location. Toys, stuffed animals, artwork, and even credit cards and keys that were recovered from floods are also being safely put away. 

“There seems to be a letter of someone’s that they obviously preserved themselves and was important to them,” Sam Cowen with the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN) said.

In the meantime, the church is still a drop-off site for people who find sentimental things. It’s a small piece in the community’s healing.

There have been some concerns going around online, about looting personal items, and donations.

affiliate KXAN reached out to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) and it told us staff hasn’t received any official reports of this. According to a spokesperson, TCSO hasn’t been able to find any proof of this either.

TCSO said deputies are out in the flood impacted areas throughout the day and night, to in large part, keep this from happening.