Homes Flooded: People, Animals Rescued After Heavy Rain In Collin County
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JOSEPHINE (CBSDFW.COM) — As heavy rain kept coming down in eastern Collin County, area creeks kept rising.
The Josephine Fire Department says their city received eight inches of rain in just four hours Sunday morning.
Firefighters here say because of the rising water, they rescued 12 people and 28 animals from the high water and brought them to safety. Collin County officials added that 26 roads were closed.
Jason Turney has lived in Josephine all his life. "I've never seen it this high."
He says this is the first time his family's home was ever flooded.
Turney and his wife Shana knew something was wrong when they heard one of the their two dogs in trouble.
She says, "The dog woke me up in the backyard. When I looked out, her head was barely above water."
It's not just the inside of their house that was under water, but both of their vehicles too.
Now hours later, there's still water in his truck's cupholder.
Wow. Cup holder in one of their vehicles still has water in it after being flooded in #Collin Co. @CBSDFW #cbs11wx pic.twitter.com/zRE0NP4aRO
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) June 22, 2015
Jason says, "I'm thinking about all the work I have in the future." In all, the fire department says 30 homes in Josephine and city hall were flooded, including those off Highway 6 thanks to a rising Brushy Creek. The Collin County fire marshal says in Lavon, six homes and the First Baptist Church went under water. Kathy Coleman says when she looked outside, her front yard turned into a mini-lake. "All of a sudden, I looked out and it was right up here." She says it took just 30 minutes to fill her backyard and creep into the front of her house. "I just really, really, worried and I was scared." The water flooded her garage and dining room and ruined her pergo flooring.
Both of this family's cars are flooded. They believe both are a total loss. @CBSDFW #cbs11wx pic.twitter.com/zMs8g3eOXb
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) June 22, 2015
In her backyard, the force of all of the water moved a shed ten feet.
She and others blame poor drainage thanks to road construction on nearby State Highway 78. "I'm irritated about it because it happened Mother's Day, not quite to this extent, and they were made aware they weren't doing drainage properly."
I called both TXDOT and Lavon's Mayor on Sunday, but didn't hear back.
But Coleman and the Turneys are thankful the water has receded so they can stay in their homes for the night.
Shana Turney says, "No one floated away, no one drowned. It is what it is. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Follow Jack on Twitter: @cbs11jack
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