CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Flooding wasn’t just a problem for commuters Friday morning, as high water also trapped one man in his mobile home.
Gerald Kohler lives at the Gateway Mobile Home Park on Lexington Blvd. near Lantana. As of Friday afternoon, the road into Gateway was flooded.
Kohler estimated his house had more than three feet of water outside. He’s seen it before.
“As long as I’ve lived here and I’ve been here almost 20 years,” Kohler said via telephone.
KRIS 6 News had hoped to interview Kohler in-person, but the water made that impossible. We did run into one resident, Juan Garza, as he was making his way through the flooded entrance.
“I wish this rain would stop so we can get in and out,” Garza said.
Garza has lived in the park for nearly eight years. Like Kohler, he’s seen his share of flooding.
“The problem here is I don’t think there’s any drainage or anything like that,” Garza said. “Where does the water go? It doesn’t go anywhere.”
The park was built with one narrow drainage ditch, approximately 10 feet wide and six feet deep, which is easily overwhelmed.
“Every year that I’ve been here, a crew goes in with shovels and wheelbarrows and they clean all the residual dirt, trash, grass, weeds,” Kohler said. “This year absolutely nothing has been done.”
New owners bought the park last December. KRIS 6 News called the office to find out what’s been done about the drainage but haven’t heard back.
Meanwhile, residents are left with high water.
“I’m just glad I’ve got a truck to where I might be safe getting in and out,” said Garza.
Unfortunately, Kohler doesn’t have a truck that’s able to get him in and out of the park. He says he’s stuck where he is until sometime Saturday at the earliest.
