SAN ANTONIO – Residents in a Northwest Side community say flooding problems have been escalating in their neighborhood after some of them spent several hours stranded in their homes, while others were displaced after rainwater went in their homes.
Joanne Felan watched helplessly as rainwater measuring more than 1.5 feet filled her home.
“There’s nothing we can do. We sat upstairs and waited for the rain to stop,” she said while standing on her wet first floor hours later on Tuesday.
This is the second time this has happened to Felan since moving into her home on Dhaka View, near Heath and Grissom, in May 2013. She said the flood was much worse this time around.
Felan said she watched through the window as the water moved vehicles down the street and as rescue crews assisted those who needed help.
Cleanup started immediately, and Felan said she knows it will be weeks before her home is back to normal, but she believes she can’t stay there and face a potential third flood.
The water washed down the road and broke through Delia Garza’s home when her six kids and grandkids were home. They woke up to the river behind and in front of their home. When they went downstairs, water was spilling inside.
“We never experienced anything like this before in our life,” Garza said. She just moved in two months ago, and she is so glad they had renter’s insurance to cover the damage.
Neighbors say the flooding issues have escalated over time, but this was the worst yet. The San Antonio River Authority Flood Plain map shows the neighborhood is in an area that has a 1% Annual Chance Flood Hazard.
Residents expressed concerns about the creek greenway maintenance and hope the City of San Antonio can step in to maintain that area and mitigate the flooding issues.
At least three households were helped by the Red Cross on Tuesday. Residents say they will need a lot of help cleaning up after the major flooding.