Irving Apartment Complex Floods, But Not From Rain
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IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Residents at an Irving apartment complex found themselves flooded on Wednesday night, but not because of rain. A water main underneath a nearby water tower broke, sending 2 million gallons of water into the property and turning the parking lot into a rushing river.
This happened at about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the Newport Apartments, located near the intersection of Belt Line Road and Northgate Drive.
The sudden torrent of water from the tower came flowing down a hill and into the complex, filling up cars and working its way into apartment units. Residents said that it was not raining at the time of the flood, and there was no warning about what was happening.
Residents were left scrambling. "I just panicked," said Steven Kelly. "When I came outside, I panicked. When I saw the flood, I panicked. Because it was all in the back of the apartment. It was coming from both directions. My heart has been racing ever since."
The muddy water has since subsided, and apartment dwellers are now left to clean up the wet mess -- both inside and outside of their homes. Some people opened car doors only to have several feet of water pour out. But not every vehicle at the complex was flooded like this. Some cars were parked on higher ground, and spared from the water.
"All my things," added resident Angel Ibarra. "I don't have a car right now, so I don't know how I'm going to get to work. That is my main concern right now."
Lecreta Jones must now find a new place to stay, at least for Thursday night. "We avoided the rain, and now this," she said on Thursday morning. "This is a disaster. I mean, this happened so quick, we didn't know what to do, and we were trapped on the stairs for two and a half hours."
City officials in Irving confirmed that the water main did indeed break and that the water tower drained. Apartment complex residents are asked to contact the city's risk management department for information about filing a claim. Officials also stated that current water supplies are sufficient to cover the city's needs.
