Threat of heavy rain puts some residents on edge in Meyerland community

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The threat of any rain event brings flashbacks for any residents who’ve had their home flooded before.

Kristin Massey’s Meyerland home has flooded three times in the last several years.

“It's terrifying. every time it rains you're worried about it flooding again. If you get more than three inches of rain here now you have street flooding and the potential of your home flooding,” Massey said.

Massey’s last effort to protect her home from Hurricane Harvey with 16,000 lbs of sandbags and a water barrier costs $8,500. But it wasn’t enough for the catastrophic storm.

​“It worked for about 12 inches then we got 4.5 feet and our whole house went under,” Massey said.

Her sentiments since then have changed drastically.

“I have a feeling of hopelessness because now this time, I'm not going to try and protect myself. I purchased this home for too high of a value for it to make sense to spend the funds and raise the home or tear it down,” Massey said.

The aftermath of her flooded home continues to have a domino effect on other parts of her family’s life.

“We've seen our home values decrease by half which brings the property taxes down which is great in a sense but in another sense, we've got HISD suffering. We're in this neighborhood because the schools are so great where we're at and they're collecting half the tax revenue right now,” Massey said.

Governor Greg Abbott has placed resources on standby across the state and elevated the State Operations Center to level three, which means “increased readiness.”

Abbott is also urging everyone in coastal areas to heed all warnings from local officials.