Water was knee high at times at the Spring Oaks apartment complex in Balch Springs at the height of flooding on Monday. More than 13 inches of rain was reported in some portions of North Texas.
Water poured into Noemi Flores鈥檚 apartment before sun rise. But that didn鈥檛 wake her up. It was her neighbors banging on her door.
She got up, and noticed her foot was wet. At first, Flores thought she had tipped over a cup. Then, she realized there was too much water for it to be from a spill.
鈥淚 can walk in it, and all I hear is the splashing,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I'm like, Okay, no, no, no, no, no. This is not just anything. What is going on?鈥�
Flores lives in a first-floor apartment in Balch Springs. She moved into the Spring Oaks apartment complex four years ago.
Now, Flores and her sixteen-year-old daughter have to move out so the apartment can be repaired. She doesn鈥檛 know where they鈥檒l go.
Many families in Balch Springs are unsure of what鈥檚 next. Clifton King drove a U-Haul into the neighborhood where flood waters dumped trash on the soggy ground and the unmistakable smell of sewage permeated the air. He was there to help his ex-wife move out of the Spring Oaks apartment with their three young children.
鈥淭hey've cut the electricity out,鈥� King said. 鈥淲e can't see nothing in there. It's dark. So, we got to kind of feel around and pack up what we can and leave the rest.鈥�
Many families were just getting by financially before the flood. The per capita income for Balch Springs is about 19 thousand a year
Damon Miles has lived at Spring Oaks for three years. He relies on disability payments for his income. He said it鈥檚 hard for people in a low-income area to find temporary shelter after a storm.
鈥淗ow can you afford to move somewhere or go to a hotel to stay for two weeks?鈥� Miles said.
Flores also receives disability payments. She said being on a fixed income means she can鈥檛 afford to pay for a hotel room or hire movers to come help her leave.
Flores鈥� brown laminate floors aren鈥檛 murky storm water isn鈥檛 covering Flores鈥� brown laminate floors anymore 鈥� vacuums sucked it all up.
But you could still hear them whirring in her apartment, and water had seeped into the walls. The stench of mold is palpable. That鈥檚 why Flores can鈥檛 stay. The mold is triggering her asthma.
This isn鈥檛 the first time Flores had water in her apartment. She said a pipe burst in her apartment during the winter storm. She has renter鈥檚 insurance, so she was able to file a claim and get the help she needed back then.
But Flores doesn鈥檛 have flood insurance. It's something she said she never thought about flooding be a problem in the Dallas-Fort Worth area until now. The renter鈥檚 insurance company told her that her policy doesn鈥檛 cover flood damage, so Flores wouldn鈥檛 get her claim approved like she did after the winter storm.
鈥淚t's very frustrating because I'm like, okay, what's the difference between them?鈥� Flores said. 鈥淚t's just water. One was cold and the other one is hot.鈥�
Like a lot of her neighbors, Flores doesn鈥檛 know what鈥檚 she鈥檒l do while her apartment is repaired. All she knows is she wants to stay positive to set an example for her daughter.
鈥淚 keep thinking, okay, God, I know you're going to show me the light at the end of the tunnel,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just got to be patient.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
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