THOMPSONS, Texas – To celebrate her 57th birthday, Patty Barber had no time for birthday cakes and presents, instead she spent Thursday trying to round up all 15 of her dogs and make it onto an emergency transport vehicle, to be evacuated from her Thompsons home.
“I have been so worried I’d have to leave my animals behind, and my dogs just would not have made it”, Patty says, clutching one of her pups.
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Thursday, during the worst flooding Fort Bend County has ever seen, with the Brazos River rising to a record high of 54 feet, Patty was forced out of her home on Thompsons Oil Field Road.
She is just one of more than 87 people rescued from their homes on Thursday alone.
But she was not able to take everyone with her.
“I have most of my animals stranded there back at the house and I’m so very worried about them. The water is rising so fast over there”, Patty says.
All told Patty has 26 goats, a cow, 2 donkeys and too many chickens to count.
Those animals could not be transported by county workers so they will remain at Patty’s house with the water rising higher and higher.
“All I can do is pray they will be alright. I can’t bear the thought of going back home days from now to find a bunch of dead animals. I can’t take that”, Patty says.
According to County Judge Bob Hebert, Fort Bend County Emergency Management Director, there are more than 1400 homes in Fort Bend County affected by high water and there have been more than 550 people rescued over the past 2 and a half days.
Even worse he says, the forecast is for a 70% chance of more rain over the next two days.
“We want people who live here to be extremely vigilant, and watch closely what’s happening around your property. If the water is rising too fast, you need to get out and move to a safe place”, Hebert says.