Edouard Floodwaters Boat Polk County Family From 4-Foot-Deep Home as Disaster Declaration Covers East Texas
Updated
Updated · KTRE · Sep 2
Edouard Floodwaters Boat Polk County Family From 4-Foot-Deep Home as Disaster Declaration Covers East Texas
3 articles · Updated · KTRE · Sep 2
Summary
Several feet of water forced a Polk County family off Sweetwater Road to use a boat Tuesday after Choates Creek overflowed and covered the bottom of their home.
6:15 a.m. was when Robert Diaz said his wife woke him as the creek surged; emergency crews boated out neighbors, while Diaz stayed behind and relatives left the area.
4 feet of flooding hit the property this time, less than the 10 feet Silvia Hernandez said the family endured two years ago, though the home still bears damage from Hurricane Beryl.
Downed trees and power-line damage left Diaz and Hernandez's property, along with many others nearby, without electricity as flood impacts spread across the area.
A disaster declaration now covers Polk County and other East Texas counties, unlocking local and potentially state aid as residents seek help elevating flood-prone homes.
With broken dams and rising waters, will state mitigation funds arrive in time to save this family's home from the next inevitable storm?
Could temporary tax relief and FEMA mitigation programs be the hidden lifeline that finally breaks East Texas's devastating cycle of repetitive flooding?
Why do homeowners risk their lives staying in repetitive flood zones, and could federal buyouts eventually force them to leave?