County experiences widespread flooding

A child walks near a flooded Wolf Creek, along FM 92, on Wednesday. Photo by Stormy Hoyt

By Chris Edwards
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TYLER COUNTY – Widespread flooding last Wednesday caused damage to property, and a widespread disaster declaration, issued by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Heavy storms, which began on Tuesday, April 9 and lasted into Wednesday morning, ended up with as much as 13 inches of rain reported in parts of the region. According to the county’s Office of Emergency Management Coordinator John Settlocker, the county is assessing damages throughout the county.

Settlocker said there have been 17 damage reports received. Several roads were closed on Wednesday, but are now open, as the waters have receded. Many roads, structures and Charmaine Dam in Ivanhoe, are all damaged as a result.

“At a sense of caution, Ivanhoe is closing the Charmaine Dam to all traffic until we can have the engineer team inspect for safety purposes,” said Ivanhoe Mayor Skip Blackstone.

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Blackstone declared an emergency on Wednesday for the city, as many roadways in Ivanhoe were rendered impassible, and many residents were unable to leave their homes or the city.

That declaration is good for seven days from its issuance, unless the city council votes to uphold it.

Blackstone said the valve at Charmaine will remain open to keep the water level down until the inspection occurs.

Abbott signed a proclamation of disaster on Monday for counties in the region affected by the flooding, including Tyler County.

Residents have 30 days from the April 15 date to complete damage assessments and submit the damage reports to the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) via the agency’s website, damage.texas.tdem.gov.

The county’s OEM notified residents that representatives from TDEM are in the county this week doing damage assessments, as well.