Sunday storms flood newly built neighborhoods, leaders encourage preparedness
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Almost half a foot of rain hit parts of Brazos County Sunday night, with some residents experiencing flooding or water right up to the edge of their homes.
While it was quick to recede in many places by Monday morning, emergency management leaders say this storm needs to be used as a wake-up call.
Garrison Creek Drive, a newly built neighborhood between Bryan and Kurten along FM 1179 and Wixon Creek spent the night underwater. Brazos County Emergency Management Coordinator, Michele Meade, says this is going to be common for new property owners.
“As we change roads as we put in roads as we put in medians all those things change how water flows and where water goes. And so it’s very important even as busy as we are on a day-to-day basis. It’s really important for us to pay attention to those things. We have a very active hurricane season forecast, the rainfall we received yesterday was similar to the rainfall that we received after Hurricane Ike made [landfall] back in 2008. So again, that’s kind of a wake-up call. We need to be watching we need to be paying attention,” Meade said.
Meade said not only with warnings coming in about the incoming hurricane season but seeing videos from across the country of major tornados should serve as a reminder to be prepared for emergencies.
“One of the things we learned during the cell phone outage recent cell phone outage was that we can use social media to get messages to our relatives about where we are, having a backup plan. If you have to evacuate because of high water, where are you going to go, you have to take your two-legged and your four-legged family members with you. So plan on where that destination spot is going to be in advance,” Meade said.
There is currently a tax-free holiday for emergency preparation supplies, this will last until midnight April 29. See more information here.
