HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The last time we were hit with a lot of rain, it was too much for some parts of town to handle. There was flooding, water creeping into homes and apartment complexes and lots of cars swamped on flooded freeways. City crews have been going around town, checking on and cleaning out storm drains. But that's little relief to dozens of flood victims, like those at Royal Palms apartments in southwest Houston who are still cleaning up from the last storm.
"People lost like everything that was in their apartments," said maintenance worker Chris Spencer.
Workers are still cleaning up from the mess rain and flooding left here two weeks ago."It was bad, about waist deep," Spencer recalled. "All the apartments on the bottom floor flooded out"
The last storm system to hit this area flooded 63 homes in this complex and left some families trapped in their homes. We watched emergency workers rescue several tenants. Now with the threat of another storm dumping as much rain across Houston this week, tenants we talked to are very worried.
Flood victim Latoya Chapman said, "I'm scared. I'm not going to lie. I'm wondering is it going to be worse than it was the last time."
On Tuesday, we found public works crews across the greater Houston area checking storm drains. In Bellaire, workers were loosening debris and cleaning out litter and trash trapped around the base of the storm sewer.
The city of Houston says its crews are also checking around and maintaining storm drains every day. But the reality is street crews say when you have as much rain in a short time like locals saw on January 9, there's just not much the city can do to stop it or the flooding.
Folks at Royal Palms say they don't need another flood.
"I hope not," Spencer said. "It's really not too much more we can do. If it's going to come, it's going to come."
So there is tension in the area.
"Whatever they need to do to prevent it from whatever happened last time they need to get on the job, like right now," resident Latoya Chapman said.
Chapman already lost everything so she'll watch and wait from her mother's second-story apartment.
On Monday night, residents from the Sunnyside area held a meeting to address flooding concerns, even forming a task force to work with city leaders.
As always, count on the ABC-13 Eyewitness weather team and abc13.com for the very latest on our changing weather. You can also get the latest watches and warnings and live Mega Doppler 13 radar by downloading our free apps. And you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
A little more than two weeks ago, the Houston area saw downpours and tornadoes that caused widespread damage and flooding. Check out photos from that day across the Houston area.
The Houston Fire Department is reminding residents to "Turn Around, Don't Drown" and says the safest option is to simply avoid driving over water and find an alternate, safer route, or wait until the danger has passed.
The Harris County Flood Control District urges residents to be proactive and act now to protect their families and property by creating a family preparedness plan. All residents are urged to monitor rainfall and bayou levels on the Harris County Flood Warning System website.
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