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Freezing pipes explode at Central Austin apartment complex
Many of the apartments were soaked in water and the whole complex had to turn the water off for hours. FOX 7 Austin's Amanda Ruiz has more on that and tips on how to keep pipes safe.
AUSTIN, Texas - Freezing pipes exploded across Central Texas due to freezing temperatures. One apartment complex in Central Austin has been left with multiple units soaked after this happened Monday.
"I was just in bed and I had just woken up, and then the fire alarm started going off. I opened my door, and the entire complex alarm was going off so I quickly put on as many layers as I could. I walked outside and I saw a giant waterfall coming down these apartments," said Ana Silverio.
Multiple frozen pipes burst Monday morning at the Sabina Apartments in Central Austin.
"We saw people opening up their sliding doors and brooming out water to the side of the balcony. It seemed like the walls got pretty soaked," said Silverio.
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Silverio has lived at the Sabina Apartments for a few months, but, luckily, she was not affected.
"I was pretty terrified because my apartment was right next to what was going," she said.
Radiant Plumbing and Air Conditioning has been in Austin since 1999. CEO Brad Casebier says he has never seen weather create such large plumbing issues before.
"We've never seen anything like this. There was one year, six years ago, seven years ago that it was pretty intense and did a lot of damage, but this one, this one wins for sure," he said.
Casebier says his business usually gets about 100 calls a day, but now its getting over 1,000.
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"A lot of heat pump systems aren't working for heating, the air furnaces that have always worked just aren't working, and then obviously a ton of just frozen pipes," said Casebier.
Casebier says what happened at the Sabina Apartments is happening across Central Texas so it's important to prepare even if you weren’t affected. "It's gonna get colder again tonight. and just because you survived last night, doesn't mean it won't freeze tonight."
The best advice Casebier says he can give you to avoid having your pipes freeze over is to cover your pipes and leave your faucets on a steady trickle. "The flow, in spite of the intensive cold, can keep things from building up icing and eventually seizing up."
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If your pipes do explode, Casebier says the water main has to be turned off. At the Sabina Apartments, residents were without water for a few hours. Luckily that water has been turned back on.
"This is no joke. I know that other parts of the country are probably used to this, but as you can see, Texas was not prepared and so just hoping that everybody else can stay safe," said Silverio.
Radiant Plumbing and Air Conditioning is offering virtual services for those that cannot get out to physically. You can get more information on their website.