Residents, some Afghan refugees who escaped Taliban, deal with busted pipes after freeze

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Residents at one apartment complex in Round Rock are dealing with busted pipes from the freezing weather.

Some of those residents are refugees from Afghanistan and are dealing with this after escaping the Taliban.

Multiple units at the Townhomes at Double Creek don’t have water. Some flooded and still have water dripping.

“We need help to – new and good home. My mother, she can’t cook in this home, because this home is full of water. We need help,” resident Qaribullah Shafir Khan said.

His family fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took over.

“People are scared,” he said about the time.

His father worked with the U.S. Army, and at first, they lived in refugee camps, then an extended stay hotel, and then the unit they’re currently in.

When units flooded, families had to try to sweep out water with whatever they could.

“To see them pushing water out, women are just bedraggled and exhausted and pushing water out of their homes with cooking pans and little brooms, it broke my heart,” volunteer Tonia Graff said.

READ MORE: Austin nonprofit helps connect refugees with jobs, training

Graff helps refugee families navigate American life.

“It’s just particularly sad for those of us who have been helping these Afghan families, because they have been unsettled for so long,” she said.

“When I come to here, English is really hard for me and Afghan people because we can’t speak English. We come here, we’re just like, ‘hello, how are you,’ and after we go to the school, now we can speak English,” Shafir Khan said.

For now, the family uses bottled water, and they fill buckets with water from a spigot on another building.

“Can’t take a shower with that water, but at least you can flush toilets,” Graff said.

FOX 7 Austin reached out to property management but haven’t heard back. Residents did get a notice that says management is diligently working on getting the situation fixed, and there’s an emergency water shut-off in certain buildings through Monday. There will also be contractors on site. Management is also paying each household $20 a day to buy water.

“[Residents] experienced catastrophic failure when the pipes froze. I know it’s not an isolated event. I know a lot of homes, a lot of apartment complexes in Austin are going through this,” Graff said.

She says people can help families like this by donating to organizations that help refugees.

“What I’m hoping is more people will recognize their new neighbors here in Texas and maybe look into organizations like Global Impact Initiative,” Graff said.

If you’re interested in donating to Global Impact Initiative, click here.