NACOGDOCHES, Texas — People in Nacogdoches are calling Thursday morning’s flood something they haven’t seen in decades. Among the areas that were flooded include a popular dance hall and parts of the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.
Water levels at the intramural and soccer fields at SFA have gone down significantly since earlier Thursday morning. The water levels here were the cause of many road closures across parts of the campus.
"This is pretty epic flooding for Nacogdoches. I haven’t seen one of these is 15 to 20 years where it crosses Star (Ave.) and it’s really rolling through here," SFA Gardens Director Dr. David Creech said.
Early Thursday morning, the intramural and soccer fields were submerged, flooding the stands and some cars.
Some even took it upon themselves to kayak on the field. Further upstream, a parking lot turned into a pond by Lanana Creek.
"We haven’t seen go all over the coliseum parking lot and Star Ave. That really surprised me," Creech said.
Inside the Basketball Performance Center, crews were trying to protect the floor from getting wet. It’s this same raging water that closed down streets on campus and flooded Creech’s gardens.
"We have 138 acres and probably three-fourths of it goes underwater every now and then like right now," Dr. Creech said.
Lanana Creek peaked 16 feet above normal levels, according to the U.S. Geological Service. Further west, Banita Creek submerged the dance floor at Banita Creek Hall.
“We had to wait because the current was pretty strong to see if we could get anywhere near here," said Jonathan Aviles, social media manager at Banita Creek Hall. "I mean just water covering the ground, everywhere…The water is obviously gone now but it took our dumpster."
Owners at Banita Creek Hall said the venue will be closed until further notice as they try to clean up and restore the place for visitors. A portion of Pilar Street was also washed away by the swift water. Crews are now repairing the road.
SFA was hosting some track and field competitions on campus for the Western Athletic Conference. Portions of those events had to be moved over to Nacogdoches High school due to the high waters.