At least 40 to 45 homes sustained damage overnight Saturday from a fast-rising flash flood in Everman, just south of Fort Worth.
The Everman Fire Department conducted approximately 35 water rescues, as well. Most of those were people trapped inside of cars, but others were people who were forced to scramble onto their rooftops in order to escape the rising water.
“We had residents stranded up on top of their homes. People begging for help, screaming for help,” said Chief Craig Spencer of the Everman Police Department, who is also the Director of Emergency Services. “It’s a scary situation not only for the residents, but also for the first responders. It’s a tough situation to be in.”
The worst of the flash flooding happened along Christie Avenue, just east of Race Street, according to Spencer. A neighborhood there backs up to the Chambers Creek, which rose well beyond its banks after several hours of intense rainfall.
Jimmie Reason has lived at the corner of Christie and Pittman avenues for six years and prior to that lived farther north on Christie for several years. He told NBC DFW he had never seen flooding along his street like this before.
“Man, it looked like we all live in a river,” Reason said, flabbergasted. “Everybody was panicking.”
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Neighbors in one Everman neighborhood helped one another get to safety.
Christian Gregory and another neighbor tied an extension cord around a tree to help bring people in deep water across the street to safety.
“I felt people were helpless and they needed help, and my family was safe in a two story house,” Gregory said.
Gregory said they helped around 15 to 20 people.
The city of Everman has recommended that people who live in the immediate area should evacuate for the duration of the weekend, considering more rainfall is expected.
As of 3 a.m., four families – comprised of about 15 people – had already evacuated the area and opted to stay in an emergency shelter.
