Deep Ellum Business Catches Fire Days After Historic Flood

One week after historic flooding in parts of north Texas, many are still in desperate need of help.

Ellum Electric in Deep Ellum is dealing with a one-two punch.

The scooter business was submerged in several inches of rain last Monday but owner Airto Castaneda-Cudney says he was spared the worst of the flooding.

Then three days later, the shop caught fire.

“I got a phone call from my neighbor she's like, ‘Hey, your scooter shop’s on fire,'” Cudney recalled. “Within like an hour the whole place was gone.”

He says a battery or an appliance may be to blame. He plans to rebuild and an online fundraiser has been started to help recoup the tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that was lost.

Across east Dallas, businesses are dealing with different challenges.

After having to close because of flooding in Exposition Park, the owner of Tarantino's Cicchetti Bar & Record Lounge has decided to shut down for good.

It’s the latest in a series of setbacks that Peter Tarantino says started with the pandemic.

“Personally I can’t go on any further, I can’t. It broke my heart. It’s broken a lot of people’s hearts,” said Tarrantino.

From heartbreak to headaches, some in Seagoville are still struggling to meet basic needs.

“We're literally stuck here with no water, no electricity, no nothing,” said flood victim Kenia Guerin.

Guerin and her family live in a mobile home park that flooded.

She and her kids had to be rescued when their neighborhood was suddenly submerged in at least a foot of water last Monday afternoon.

“Our home has mold, had to throw a lot of our kids' things away yesterday and to see our kids cry and say mom where's the help that they promised us and there's nothing,” said Guerin.

She says she's filled out every form for assistance but is still stuck at square one.

She's hoping for a lifeline soon for the sake of her family and her sanity.

“It’s not fair for the kids,” said Guerin.