Fort Worth Neighborhood Hit Hard by Flooding

The neighborhood surrounding Western Avenue just off Hulen Street in Fort Worth was hit hard by flooding Tuesday.

Residents who have lived in the area for several decades said this isn't the first time their neighborhood has flooded.

"That was the worst we had ever seen it," said Miriam Hermann, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years.

Hermann said the city has been looking at fixing their streets for about 10 years.

Several homeowners said all of their flooring needs to be replaced.

"I've been to all the meetings since 2004 when this all started. And I have to say I'm pleased. I'm seeing progress," Hermann said.

Singer-songwriter Deanna Wendolyn said she lost five guitars and a baby grand piano in the flash flooding. She also said her insurance won't cover natural disasters like this.

But other neighbors disagreed and pointed out other recent projects, like one on Ashland Avenue, as making this flooding even worse.

Fort Worth District 7 Councilman Dennis Shingleton said the city will start a project on Western Avenue in March 2015.

Shingleton said while this won't fix all of the flooding problems, it will help.

If the flooding isn't fixed, some neighbors said they will move.

"So we're all like, 'OK, do we just lift everything every time it rains?' Just keep everything up off the floor," Suzy Laiine, a resident on Western Avenue for a year said. "That's not really some way that you want to live on a daily basis."

Church Hit Hard Too by Floods

Neighborhoods weren't the only places impacted by Tuesday's flooding rain storms.

Rain fell so quickly at Hemphill and West Berry streets in the Hemphill Heights neighborhood, the Travis Avenue Baptist Church became inundated with water as well.

Water pushed into the basement beneath the sanctuary, collapsing a ceiling in a restroom and leaving a water line about three feet high. Water then pushed into the basement damaging carpet, dry wall and anything on the ground.

Water also pushed into the children's ministry building, leaving about four inches of water on the ground.

On Wednesday, a clean-up company was setting up fans, removing dry wall and working to fix up the century old church.

No one was injured by the flood waters, but it could take nearly a month before damaged classrooms and storage areas are fixed to be used again.

Despite the damage, church leaders said they're staying positive and working together to keep the church moving forward. 

"Life throws these things at us and we just have to believe that God will give us the wisdom and strength to deal with whatever we have to deal with," said Pastor Michael Dean. 

Dean said he can't recall the church experiencing any kind of flooding like they say on Tuesday. 

Vacation Bible School students were moved to other parts of the church that weren't impacted by flooding.

NBC 5's Chris Van Horne contributed to this report.

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