By Vanesa Brashier, editor@bluebonnetnews.com
The flooding from Tropical Depression Imelda is creating a crisis in Liberty County where many of the roads are now underwater and more rain is in the forecast.
“This is worse than Harvey,” said County Pct. 4 County Commissioner Leon Wilson by phone around 9 a.m. Thursday.
Worsening conditions have prompted officials to order a shelter in place for all of Liberty County. The City of Dayton likewise ordered a shelter in place advisory for residents inside the city.
“Do not try to leave your house. Water is rising over the roadways and it’s becoming unsafe,” Wilson said.
Dayton City Manager Theo Melancon said that Main Street, SH 321 and FM 1960 all are underwater at this time.
“Pretty much any street in the city is underwater right now. We know we have some flooding in our homes. We are doing high-water rescues at CR 4922 at FM 1413. County Road 604 is washing away, so we are working with the county to put out barricades,” Melancon said.
Dayton Volunteer Fire Department has sent over two high-water trucks and a fire engine to Liberty, where the high-water rescues kicked off earlier than in Dayton.
“We are stretched from CR 604 to the City of Liberty, but we are doing well and are responsive,” Melancon said. “We are getting preparations in place for a shelter if we need one, but we are hoping we won’t need it. Right now we have no idea how many homes are being flooded and how many residents are being impacted.”
To add to the misery for some Dayton residents, power is out at CR 604, CR
602 and Norcross Lane, he added.
Pct. 6 Constable John Joslin shared this photo of flooding on US 59 at FM 2025. 
Cleveland: E. Hanson at Tanner Street – photo shared by Peggy Land 
Janet Martin-Clark shared this photo of flooding at Martin Polaris in Cleveland. 
Shelby Cosgrove shared this photo of homes along Highway 61 in Devers. 
Tammy Bentley Haass shared this photo of a horse standing in water on CR 2224. 
KaiDee Duncan shared this photo of downtown Dayton. 
Kimberly Ard Meadows of Hull shared this photo of her backyard off of FM 834. 
Nicol Chapman Williams shared this photo of her property on FM 1008 and CR 2320 in the Tarkington area. 
Tiffany Neibch shared this photo of her home north of Dayton. 
Jaymi Rodriguez Hollie shared this photo of FM 2830 N by the Liberty airport standing outside her driveway. 
Norma Burns of Splendora shared this photo of her yard. 
Brenda Schmidt shared this photo of US 90 in Ames. 
Stephen Sikes shared this photo of CR 639 in Dayton. 
Ashanda Marcantel snapped this photo of CR 158 in Liberty.
According to Liberty Fire Chief Brian Hurst, the City of Liberty has coordinated
25 high-water rescues Thursday. Some of the evacuees are being taken to First United Methodist Church in Liberty where a temporary shelter has been established.
“The calls for help are coming in one after another. We have people with
water in their homes who need to be evacuated and we’re rescuing people stranded
in their vehicles,” he said.
The flooding inside Liberty is widespread with some of the worst flooding
seen on Main Street, Cook Street, FM 563, Edgewood Street and Baker Circle. The
veteran fire chief says areas that typically do well in heavy rains are seeing
flooding.
“I have never seen water like this, not even with Harvey. I think the Dodge
dealership has lost every vehicle in their inventory,” he said.
City Manager Tom Warner said the levee that protects the City of Liberty
from the Trinity when it is out of its banks is faring well in the storm, but
the pumps that drain the city are having trouble keeping up.
“The rain is coming down faster than we can pump it out. As long as we get
breaks in the rain, we can do a lot and try to catch up,” he said. “The problem
is the levee that protects the town from the river also forms a bowl. The river
right now is not an issue to us. It’s the rain.”
The Cleveland area is experiencing similar conditions as its sister cities with US 59 pretty much shut down for travel, according to Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard.
“We have a lot of water everywhere. North of town, behind the motel, we have a lot of homes that have 2 to 3 feet of water in them,” he said. “We have water over the intersection of FM 2025 at N. Washington and have about 3 to 4 abandoned vehicles there. We are moving those to Calvary Baptist Church if anyone is looking to claim them.”
Broussard said residents should not venture out in vehicles or on foot because of the unseen hazards.
“Do not drive in water where you cannot see the roadway. You should also not walk in this floodwater because you cannot see debris or ditches and could injure yourself or drown,” he said.
Bluebonnet News will continue to provide updates throughout the storm. Check back for updates. To see more reader-submitted images of the flooding in the county, go online to https://www.facebook.com/bluebonnetnews/