Dallas

Residents, City Crews Prepare for Rain, Flooding Potential

Fort Worth warns residents up to three inches of rain could fall

North Texas will see some much needed rain on Tuesday, according to forecasts. And while that rain is something badly needed across the area, it could pose some flood risks.

On Monday afternoon, the Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management warned residents via text message about the impending storm.

"Forecast for heavy rains Tue/Wed, up to 3 inches with local flooding possible," the text read.

With the warnings out to the public, residents in the Central Arlington Heights neighborhood are keeping a close eye on the sky and on their streets.

"If it's a lot of water in a short period of time and the underground can't handle it then it becomes a problem," said Dave Herman.

The city knows that the capacity for storm water runoff in the area isn't large, but has several projects completed and ready to start in the area to help mitigate the flooding danger. The latest project, though, isn't set to start until next March and it was too late for some residents along Western Avenue back in late June, where high flood waters hit several homes and cars.

"It's the second time in the 20 years we've lived here that it's been that bad," Herman said.

While there's no way of telling just how much rain my fall this week, the prospect of more than 1-inch has residents like Herman ready and watching.

"We do keep an eye on the weather and warn the neighbors that are lower than us if we see something coming that looks like they might want to move the cars," Herman said.

After June's surprise storm and flooding, residents asked the city in a neighborhood meeting what they could do to reduce the flooding problem. One suggestion was to make sure storm drains were kept clear of yard debris.

"We go and check and make sure that everything is clear. We don't have anything obstructing our underground pipes and our inlets," said storm water superintendent Juan Cadena.

City crews are still cleaning up bulk debris from October's damaging wind storm, but the city said such debris was cleared in the last few days from the Western Avenue area.

Cadena said his crews check drainage systems before and after big rain events. He said once the rain starts, workers will visit the 300 known flood spots in the city.

"They just keep an eye on the areas that are flooding, making sure we can do whatever we can to protect people and property," Cadena said.

Some residents told NBC 5 they do have sandbags at the ready, just in case, but others said they will simply be minding the radar and watching for water on their street.

"Better safe than sorry," Herman said.

The city said it is also looking at creating flood maps of the neighborhood so that any future development can have a better idea as to the impacts water can have on a home. There has been talk about making the area part of a designated flood area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but that could be costly to residents and is still being evaluated and discussed.

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