Cleanup underway in Greenspoint area after flooding
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A massive cleanup is underway in the Greenspoint area where floodwaters inundated several apartment complexes Monday. Couches and ruined carpet are piled up near dumpsters and mud covers parking lots and much of the area streets.
The smell of gasoline and oil permeates the air near dozens of flooded out cars. Many people don't have much to save.
Robert Vando's first floor apartment at Breckenridge at City View took on several inches of water. He escaped the flood in a friend's second floor unit after someone knocked on his door at 4am Monday.
"So I wake up and hoo! Had a river out here, you know?" he said, while gesturing around his apartment.
The water line is still visible on the wall, but what you really can't see is what the water did to his furniture.
"I opened up the window to try to get some of the smell out. Hmm. You should have seen this apartment yesterday. Oh my god," he said.
At 80 years old, he's having to start new with just some clothes and his medicine. He hadn't even made a payment yet on his new Jeep, which still has water in the cup holders, console and headlights. It's only covered by liability insurance.
However, with some help from his son to get back on his feet, he remains optimistic.
"I feel bad about it really. Of course there's other people worse than me out here in this complex out here, so what can I say?" he said.
His apartment maintenance is going to rip out his apartment and clean it.
The Arbor Court apartment complex was one of the hardest hit areas. Water was six or seven feet deep in parts, according to residents. Many of them had to ride out the flood upstairs and either swim or try to float out on mattresses or wait to be rescued.
"I'm like what are we supposed to do? I'm just now starting over and I have nothing," said mother Phoenicia Robertson. She was able to save a diaper bag full of important documents for herself and her one-year-old son.
"I'm trying to stay positive but this is crazy," she said.
She is staying at a shelter at M.O. Campbell Educational Center and is not sure where she will live next.
The City of Houston reports 346 people are staying in shelters across the city. The Red Cross is asking for volunteers to sign up online at www.redcross.org/tx/houston/volunteer.
