Some Wharton residents ignore mandatory evacuation order

WHARTON, Texas – Despite the rising river level in Wharton, many people are disregarding the mandatory evacuation order and staying put.

The city of Wharton issued the mandatory evacuation following predictions the Colorado River may cause heavy flooding in the area, officials announced via Twitter Sunday afternoon.

The evacuation went into effect Monday at 7 a.m., officials said. Authorities are expecting a significant rise in the Colorado River.

It includes areas within the following border:
• West at Wilkes Street
• North at Hendon Street
• East at Spanish Camp Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
• East at Martin Luther King Boulevard to Outlar Street
• South at Camellia Street and S. Sunset Street to Bell Street

Residents said they know the river levels, and many said they are not worried at all this time around.

"Today is Memorial Day. I'm about to make hamburgers and French fries," Sandra Curtis said.

Curtis said she is not going anywhere on this Memorial Day despite the order.

"Because we're tired. My mom is here. We're tired of moving. This was a month and a week ago, and we moved out, but this time, we're staying," Curtis said.

Mary Barnes has seen it too many times. Her Wharton home on Columbine was devastated by fast-moving floodwaters that seemed to come out of nowhere. Only a few weeks ago, a river of water 4 feet deep swept right through her once tidy, two-bedroom, wood frame rancher, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages. 

[PHOTOS: 2016 Memorial Day weekend rainfall impacts dozens of neighborhoods across Houston area]

She said she can’t take it anymore. The city has to do something, she said.

"You get tired of packing and unpacking. You don't want to leave anymore. I wouldn't say we're nervous. No, this time I say, we're just fed up," Barnes said. “I am sick of watching our little town flood out over and over again.  I’ve been watching it for 18 years now.  Whenever the feds make money available for flood relief, it goes to folks on the other side of Houston, never does that money come here.”

A few doors down on the same street, Burnell Neal, 52, is just beginning to repair the flood damage from the last storm and now this.

High water came flowing right through many of the windows in his home, wiping out every cabinet and major appliance in his kitchen as it swamped every other room in the house.

“All that water, it came into my kitchen. Look at where my stove, my sink, my refrigerator, my cabinets used to be.  It’s all gone, and the walls are all ruined from the ground up. It’s ridiculous,” Neal said, standing next to the fresh drywall he has just installed.

And with the clock ticking and just nine hours until the evacuation deadline set by the city of Wharton, Kimberly Willis is helping her elderly mother, Mary, get out of town fast.

“I live in Rosenberg now, and I just drove down to see that my momma gets out safely. She has been through this so much. She is still cleaning up from the last storm.  She had snakes and all kinds of things in that house.  I’m taking her to my other sister’s home for a few days till this passes,” Willis said.

Mandatory evacuation as of 7 a.m. Monday, May 30th for the area bounded on the West by Wilkes Street, North by Hendon...

Posted by City of Wharton OEM on Sunday, May 29, 2016

There is a Red Cross shelter in place at the Wharton Boys and Girls Club.

Officials said if residents choose to disregard the mandatory evacuation order, they are taking their chances.