Flooding in Beaumont and surrounding areas

[Stephanie]

I think the decision was hers to leave. Not sure if it was mandetory or not.

Smart move either way. She must've been going through the same horrible feelings she was having during Rita!

[southerngale]

I'm finally back home! Thanks for the concern.

My phone was apparently messed up as I wasn't hearing it ring, but when people were trying to call, it was going straight to voice mail and I heard a lot of messages at once. Linda got through Friday morning while I was at the other end of my flooded street trying to find out if they were gonna help people get across. They had dump trucks there that I thought were gonna take people across, but they said when one tried to go and it started rocking or something, it backed up. So they were gonna try and get a military truck to come in. They had a military truck across the highway on a different street the week before when all the flooding first started. Last week, this same street was flooded, but it was just barely passable. I had gone through it a few times and it was higher each time. All day Saturday, family and friends were telling me to just go so I wouldn't get stuck back there. By the time I decided to go, I would be driving through it in the dark. Let me tell you...that was SCARY!! They had it roped off with poles and little colored flags so you could see where not to go though, and only drive down the middle. That wasn't so comforting, especially when I hit all the holes caused from the water...each hole you think you're going down.

Anyway, just when I thought I might be able to get back home, we got another million inches of rain and it came up even higher than before. It rained all day Thursday and Thursday night, a lot of it really heavy rain. Looking at radar, just when you thought it might stop, it would just keep re-developing and going over our same area. It was like the dang Twilight Zone. Homes that had flooded the previous week flooded again and some still had water in them because it takes so long for the rivers and bayous to recede, and the water just went higher in their homes.
I have a big ditch that runs along the side of my house and behind it and streams into Pine Island Bayou. What started worrying me last Saturday before I left was when it rained that morning, they were backing up more than usual into my yard because there simply wasn't anywhere for it to go. They predicted more rain last Saturday night with the front, which never really materialized but had more come, I didn't think I should be there. I didn't know what would happen. When I left last Saturday, it was still rising and the road became impassable. But since it didn't rain for a few days, it started to recede. Then came the next deluge and it went a lot higher than before.

Ok, I could ramble forever. The flooding here has been really bad...with records being set. A LOT of people's homes are completely destroyed and many more have flood damage.


Watch this video. This is my street that I need to cross, where I was when Linda called. A hummer or SUV sank here and a few people rescued the driver seconds before it sank. The picture just shows some of the road but from the video, you can see more. I also have some pictures that I'll likely upload and post when I get a chance. For some reason, the video won't work in Firefox, so if you have Firefox, you'll need to use your IE tab or open it in IE.
http://www.kfdm.com/engine.pl?station=k ... ateformat=%M+%e,%Y

A dang military truck even sank on a different road, while trying to cross to rescue people from their homes. The guys weren't hurt. It's like quicksand or something here, with all the rain....geesh.

The Salvation Army, Red Cross, and other disaster services jumped in quickly to help everyone. Now we just have to wait for the water to go down and unfortunately, that's a slow process.

[KatDaddy]

I was worried about you and your home. Glad you are safe and sound SG! We were all worried. The flooding has been severe.

[Portastorm]

Glad to hear you're ok ... you've been in our thoughts and prayers!

[Stephanie]

I'm glad you're alright, but I'm sorry that you've had to go through all of that.

[TexasStooge]

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone going through the Flooding in those areas.

[southerngale]

Thanks, guys. How about no more significant weather events here for a while?! I think we've had enough! If all of the mosquitoes bombarding us right now doesn't kill us, I think the stress will do many folks in.

Here's a few pics that I took in my neighborhood:
















The edge of the water...it was deeper farther down









Military here to help








This is down the highway a little ways. I don't think this is what they had in mind...

[Stephanie]

Uh, looks like the water park opened!!

Those pictures say alot Kelly!

[southerngale]

Many homes in the area flooded much worse, with many feet of water. It's really sad as some lost everything. Those are just pics of my immediate neighborhood.