Remembering Memorial Day floods

HOUSTON – A truck drives down Avenue A inside the Reyes Trailer Park in Fort Bend County.

Not a big deal, you say? So what?

For the people who live in this community, it is a very big deal because at this time last year the only way to get around this neighborhood was by boat.

The mighty Brazos River was on its way to hitting record levels, cresting more than 53 feet -- the highest waters in 50 years, and The Reyes Trailer Park was underwater.

“In the Memorial Day weekend, one year ago, right now, it was bad. I was scared,” said Eber Fajardo, a husband and father who lives in the trailer park.

Eber, his wife Rosalinda, their three kids and the family dog, Mimi, all watched in disbelief as the water kept rising higher and higher.

Inside their home, water more than 3-feet high destroyed much of what they owned and they were forced to evacuate the area.

“Yeah, last year, the Brazos River it is a coming, maybe more than 3 feet in my trailer. A lot of water … no good for me,” Fajardo said.

Just down the street, Sally Lozano, her husband and her son also watched the water coming.

In fact, her son loaned out his kayak to transport people who could not get around.

Sally remembers the fear she felt.

“It was bad, we got a lot of water inside our whole house. The whole house had to be remodeled and everything. We went through a lot, we lost our furniture. We lost everything,” Sally Lozano said.

Two years ago, Memorial Day 2015, this neighborhood flooded out as well.

So naturally with the upcoming forecast bringing more rain, Sally Lozano and her neighbors can’t help but worry: Could the unthinkable happen once again?

“It’s hard, it took a heavy toll on us. With the memories and all that stuff coming back. And now with the weather supposed to get ugly, it just brings back so many bad memories. It brings them back again,” Lozano said.


About the Author:

Emmy-winning investigative reporter, insanely competitive tennis player, skier, weightlifter, crazy rock & roll drummer (John Bonham is my hero). Husband to Veronica and loving cat father to Bella and Meemo.