Humble residents caught off guard by recent flooding

HUMBLE, Texas – It seems like everywhere we go we hear "it's never been like this" here, referring to severe flooding. Except when you think of the places that normally get hit hard by flooding, Humble doesn't usually come to mind.

This past weekend, that changed.

On a flooded Fieldtree Drive, two-story homes appear like one story homes and one-story homes read like half a story.

"If you could see the inside of my house you'd understand," said Dixie-Lee Franklin, an Humble resident on Fieldtree for 25 years.

Franklin's story begins with the floods here in '94 and then over this past weekend, the water was up to the mantle.

On Monday, the water went down but the whole living room was ruined.

"It is what it is and I'm really thankful that we're both OK," Franklin said, referring to her husband Lloyd.

The Country Inn & Suites hotel was flooded on that same street, and neighbors said some guests had to evacuate because the power went out.

Ray Thomas lives next door and half of his home is underwater.

"I hadn't been flooded in 11 years," Thomas says.

That was until when it rained in April where Thomas says only a foot of water seeped in, but when he left his home at 4:30 Saturday morning it was eight to nine feet.

"I would think at least $100,000 to tear everything out and put it back," Thomas said.

Thomas says the best case scenario is for FEMA to take his place so he can eventually move.

Franklin says she's staying with relatives for now but plans to rebuild once the water recedes.