Cedar Valley community underwater during historic water release from Lake Livingston

LIVINGSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Lake Livingston Dam is releasing historic amounts of water, drowning the communities just below it.

During Hurricane Harvey, the record was set with 110,000 cubic feet per second. Thursday, they hit over 130,000 cubic feet per second.

During flooding events near Lake Livingston, the Cedar Valley community is often the first to feel the impact.

"We've been dealing with it for years, so you just have to watch it and judge when to get some things out," Cedar Valley resident Waylin Hicks said.

Part of the routine for Waylin, and his daughter Le'Anne Hopkins, is to pull out the boat and troll down the flooded roads to inspect the damage in their neighborhood.

"So this is my grandpa's," Le'Anne pointed out a submerged RV shed from the safety of boat.

"It hasn't been this high since Harvey," Le'Anne said.

On their trek, we found homes flooded to the roofs, power lines skimmed the water's surface, and belongings bobbed down the river.

"None of us expect it to come up this fast and be this high," Le'Anne said.

This level of flooding is the result of historic water release from the Lake Livingston Dam. Homes on the bank of the Trinity River sitting on 11-foot stilts now only have a foot or two of clearance left below them

Thursday, there was a lull in the rainfall, but the Trinity River Authority said Lake Livingston is still rising, forcing the group to release historic amounts of water from the dam, dumping it into the homes to the south.

"We're I guess more accustom to it, it's not as shocking to us because we're so used to it," Le'Anne said.

For the homes still above the surge, they watch and wait.

"It looks good as of right now," Le'Anne said of their property.

For those forced to evacuate, they're coming to grips with the loss has just begun.

"A random storm has caused all of this," Le'Anne said.

Now is the waiting game to see how long it takes for the river to drop. Community members who spoke to ABC13 said while they're no stranger to the loss. It never gets any easier wondering what the damage will be.