Rising Waters On Dry Creek Flood Parts Of Rio Linda, Damage Church
RIO LINDA (CBS13) - Dry Creek in Elkorn hit flood stage Tuesday night and evacuations were underway in parts of Rio Linda.
Neighbors were keeping a close eye on the creek all day until it passed its flood stage levels around 8 p.m. - with over a foot of standing water on the roadways.
Evacuations were underway for residents on Cherry Lane, Curved Bridge Road and 6th Street to Rio Linda High School.
Antonio Bush and his family live right next to the creek. They walked CBS13 around their home to show how deep the water had come onto their property. They had put sandbags to hold the water back, but it wasn't enough.
Bush and his family began packing up belongings.
"We were praying it was going to stop. We're just barely moving in, we have a lot of stuff in the barn, and I'm just praying it doesn't raise in height," said Bush.
Other families chose to stay back. They said they're used to this kind of flooding - and now that the bulk of the rain has subsided, they are hoping water levels won't rise
"It could get higher real quick, and at any moment it can be in the house, so you gotta get out as soon as possible," said Pleasant Grove firefighter Steve Coats.
Metro Fire says even though homes may not have a history of flooding, the problem with people not evacuating is if they're in need of medical help or assistance of some kind, it's difficult to reach them quickly with these flooded streets.
A Rio Linda church off Dry Creek Road was also hit hard; the church was flooded. Church goers helped clear what they could from inside, but the Pastor Bob Royer says it's heartbreaking to see.
"I'm heart sick. All the work that's involved with cleaning up, cause all you get is mud, when it all goes down you have mud left on the floor," said Royer.
Royer has been a pastor at the church for 36 years, and while this isn't the first time the church has seen flooding, the cleanup is never easy.
The pastor is hoping he can get some help to get the church back together.