PEARLAND, Texas — Retired teacher Barbara James waited in waders Tuesday afternoon as water inched closer to her Pearland home.
"The water has come up so quickly,” James said.
She lives within sight of Clear Creek and hadn’t seen it this bad except for when Harvey left a huge mess.
"4.5 feet inside three years ago," James said. "It was very, very bad."
Many homeowners have totally renovated since then, knowing flooding could happen again.
"It’s just part of living here. It’s what you deal with,” James said.
But it couldn’t come at a worse time for some.
"I think that a lot of people have had a really crappy year and it just keeps going," said neighbor Brandy Growth. "So it’s really sad. A lot of PTSD is happening.”
We saw some emergency crews stage rescue equipment near Clear Creek and heard of at least one resident who had to be brought out by boat.
It's something James hoped to avoid.
“I put that stone in my driveway," James said. "So that marks the water level so I’d know when to call my son to tell him to come and get us.”
Pearland public works crews set up barriers to keep people out of flooded areas.