Flooding victims brace as rain drenches Kaufman County

Among several parts of Texas that braced for severe storms Thursday, Kaufman County was under a flood watch.

As a continuous rain yet again fell over Kaufman and its neighboring communities, those still recovering from a flood three weeks before couldn’t help but worry.

“You have to wonder if the parking lot is going to be underwater? How high is the water going to get this time?” said Jim Collinsworth.

Collinsworth is the pastor of Becker Methodist Church.

On April 26, he received calls and videos that their 134-year-old building had taken on water.

“We had water that came up into the building up to about eight inches. We could see the silt on top of the baseboards, all over the flooring,” he said.

That flooring will now have to be replaced as will the church’s foundation, which now tilts precariously towards the altar.

“It is going to be a big project and we’re a relatively small congregation, so we’re starting our campaign this week to generate some resources to build up a restoration fund,” said Collinsworth.

“We feel stuck and scared and lost. Those are the biggest emotions I could say,” said Alicia Hinkle.

Hinkle and her family are currently renting a home in Forney after they were displaced from their house along Sunset Drive by a flood in October.

“It happened so quickly. People don’t think that it happens that fast, but it really does. It happens within the blink of an eye,” she said.

Inside, Hinkle said water rose well above their waists. After she and her children rushed around trying to salvage what they could, they had to be rescued from the second floor.

Months later, the home now sits stripped to its studs.

And three weeks ago, it flooded again.

“If we had been living there, I don’t know what we would’ve done this time,” said Hinkle.

The family purchased the home in 2022, and she fears two floods in six months is just a small taste of what they’ll have to endure if they rebuild unless there are changes to a nearby reservoir.

However, Kaufman County Emergency Management Director Steve Howie said the dam behind their home is operating how it should.

He told NBC5 that the property’s previous owner built the home in a flood easement allegedly without the county's knowledge.

Hinkle said that wasn’t disclosed at the time of purchase.

More rain only adds insult to injury for her family and others across the county.

“I wish there would be a way for us to spread it out a little bit,” said Collinsworth.

Collinsworth said his congregation of 30 is relying on a community fundraiser to collect the money necessary to repair the church.

Kaufman County said while it’s still assessing damage from the April 26^th storm, it expects to hit the threshold necessary to spur federal assistance.