Corsicana Flood Waters Receding, Leaving 'Catastrophic' Damage Behind
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CORSICANA (CBS11) - Bright sunshine was welcomed Monday after days of pouring rain. And the water is beginning to recede: just not fast enough.
While some city streets remain underwater, it's the damage to the roadways in rural Navarro County that's being called 'catastrophic'. Local leaders say some 200 county roads have been damaged, and are now dangerous or downright impassable.
"My husband brought groceries on Saturday," says Olga Shepherd, "so we just hung out, watched TV." With their rural school district deciding to cancel classes because of the roads, the Shepherds are also now hosting nearby friends. The road to their home is gone.
"Even if we could [reach home], there's no water at the house," says Hannah Flournoy, who quickly produced cell phone video of water thigh deep over the road. And then later, as the water receded, the video showed the road washed completely away.
"Hectic, very hectic," breathed Tony McMillan, working with Navarro County road crews to shore up the heavily damaged roads. "They live out here in the country and get all of these wash-outs, they can't get in and can't get out."
Also: a warning for those who still manage to find a way to the highway--road conditions continue to deteriorate with the increased traffic.
"My son was driving—and the road was breaking up," says Sharon Settlemyer, "so he stepped off in it to see how deep the side of the road was, and it was chest deep and he's 5'9"."
Meanwhile, Navarro County roads crews navigate the crumbling roads with dump trucks dumping as much gravel as they can as quickly as they can to get the community moving.
"Be patient with us," pleaded driver Jeff Betts, "give us time and we'll get you back up and running."
ALSO: BOIL WATER WARNING IN NAVARRO COUNTY CITY OF RICHLAND
In the Navarro county city of Richland, it's the water that residents want to get running again.
The flooding is blamed for snapping the water main that supplies the city. Again. The same main burst in May following heavy rainfall.
City leaders say they had recently completed permanent repairs and thought that a metal sleeve encasing the pipe would protect it. Right now, they don't know what went wrong—it's still under water.
Residents can pick up cases of bottled water at the city's civic center or fill containers. They're being warned to boil any water used for cooking or drinking. The crisis is expected to continue for at least a couple of weeks.
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