Homeowners know that owning property is a constant battle and no one knew this better than Randy Wagner. The Texan had spent most of his life working hard toward the dream of having his own home.
And he achieved it but all of it was being threatened by mother nature. Yes, Wagner’s family home was right in the path of a flood and while all his neighbours abandoned their properties for safety, Randy had other ideas. He was going to fight the flood.
In His Blood
As we mentioned, Randy was a hard worker and learned everything he knew from his father. The family had humble beginnings and had pulled themselves out of a tough financial situation.
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Now, Randy had a modest home in Rosharon, Texas where he raised his family with his wife. While most people wouldn’t have thought the property was much to boast about for Wagner, he was living the dream.
Intense Storm
All was going well, the family had established themselves in the neighbourhood and while many teased him about his no-nonsense attitude, Randy and his family were well-liked but soon that was about to change.
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News broke that the Office of the Texas State Climatologist College of Geoscience discovered that “Ten to 15 inches of rain in less than 12 hours produced devastating flooding in western Houston in an event that became known as the Tax Day Flood”
Red Alert
While this sort of weather was not common in the area, Randy was immediately concerned. He started researching more about the storm, its trajectory and buying basic shelter supplies.
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He was a man who loved being prepared and news of this flash flood had him on edge but he was alone in his concern. At that point, even news outlets assured the residents that this was nothing to concern about.
Property Damaged
The flash flood had thankfully not taken any lives but had destroyed all the buildings in its path. It was reported that billions of dollars had been lost with thousands of people homeless and looking for shelter.
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Despite all this jarring news, the residents in Randy’s town were sure that this was a once in a lifetime thing that would completely miss their area. And even when news of storms closing in was reported, no one thought twice about it. Expect for Randy of course.
Getting Closer
The storm was approaching and even when it reached Brenham County, just 100 miles away from where Randy lived and destroyed everything in its path residents were sure that they needn’t worry.
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By then, the county was covered in 19 inches of rain and since most homes in Texas were not designed to deal with such an unexpected amount of rain, all were forced to evacuate. And seeing all this news, Randy was sure that they were next.
Telling Everyone
Wagner called his friends in the neighbourhood and spread the word that he thought that the storm was going to hit them next and that everyone should stock up on supplies and prepare themselves.
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He was expecting a thank you for his sage warning but only got chuckles instead. All his friends thought the storm was a joke and that the news had exaggerated the situation. “The storm can’t possibly be that bad.” was a common answer he heard.
No Support
Some people even said that he was being too paranoid and that he should “lighten up”. Dismayed by the response from his neighbourhood, Randy turned to his family. He hoped that they would see his sound reasoning.
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But sadly, even his wife thought that there was nothing to be concerned about and asked Randy to calm down. The couple had lived in Texas for a long time and, his wife felt confident that they could deal with a ” little flood”.
Cautious Man
All his life people had told him that Randy needed to lighten up and this felt much the same through the years, the middle-aged man had learned to soften his paranoia but he felt that this was not the time for it.
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He continued to keep a watchful eye on the storm and started researching safety methods to protect homes from flash floods. And there was one idea which he thought was the best of them all. He just hoped he never would have to use it.
He Was Right!
After days of being told that residents of his town need not concern themselves with the flood, suddenly a mandatory evacuation was ordered. The whole neighbourhood that had dismissed Randy and his warnings were confused and concerned.
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No one had prepared themselves for such a turn of events… except Randy and were rushed out of their homes with few essentials. Rather than spend this time gloating, Wagner had other plans.
Not Leaving
He refused to evacuate from the area and after dealing with very angry personnel who threatened and warned him of the worst possible outcomes if he continued to stay at his home.
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And despite all this, Randy Wagner knew that he wasn’t going to leave his home. Instead, he was going to protect his hard-earned house. Everyone in his neighbourhood had thought that he had lost his mind.
An Idea
The man who had all asked them to worry about the floods was now choosing to stay behind! What was his plan? Well, the answer to that was an aqua dam, a watertight tube that was 30 inches tall and 450 feet long.
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If everything went according to plan, the aqua dam would keep the water away from his house and property and he had seen it being successfully used a few times on the internet. But had no real-life experience with it.
His Wife Left
Regardless of that, he was going to rely on this contraption to save his home. Randy was sure that it was going to work but his wife wasn’t and she listened to the officials and started preparing for the evacuation.
Despite no support, Randy was determined even stubborn about his Aqua Dam. With his entire town evacuated, the man started work on the Aqua Dam. But that is when all his problems started getting worst.
Buying Supplies
Randy had thought that building one would be straightforward, at least the internet made it seem so. But most of the equipment he needed wouldn’t reach his home due to roads being blocked.
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He would have to make everything from scratch but the Aqua Dam couldn’t just be built with stuff from standard Home Depot Randy had to drive to Louisiana to source most of the things himself.
Expensive
Unfortunately, this trip took him about eight and a half hours. And that was just one way and at times, Randy would get home tired from driving and realize that he had been given the wrong item for his project!
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He was running out of time and money, he had already spent $8,300 and there was no turning back now. The few people who were left to see what Randy was doing thought he had lost his mind. “What isn’t he leaving?” and “He’s crazy.” were common remarks about him.
Focused
But Randy could care less about his neighbours and what they thought about him. He was on the last stretch of his project. His property was now surrounded by black oversized tubes which he planned on filling with water.
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This “dam” was going to protect his home from the flood and just as he was finishing it, news broke that the Brazos River Flooded. The President declared a state of emergency in the area and the last residents were evacuated by military personnel.
All His Hope
Wagner rushed and spent the next eight and half hours ensuring that everything was as it should be. His family was away, safe and sound. He was the only man left in his neighbourhood with a flood minutes away from him.
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And then he saw the water. The flooding was unbelievable with homes and businesses waterlogged and under 27-inches of muddy water. It looks like the end of the world and even the calm and collected Randy began to worry.
Watchful Eye
If the water level reached more than 30 inches deep, the Aqua Dam would be useless and as Randy watched the water level rise he began to panic. All around him, houses were submerged in muddy water.
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And he was all alone on a small green island. He had stocked up on all the things he needed and miraculously he still had internet. So, Randy kept a watchful eye on flooding reports, praying that the water didn’t rise any further.
Getting Noticed
The flash flooding in the county had caught the attention of many news channels which had all once assured that no such thing could happen. Now, the same news channels were sending helicopters to record the destruction.
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And all of them started noticing Randy and his home. Surrounded by muddy and murky waters, his was the only home that wasn’t flooded… yet. Some news channels even tried to help him to evacuate thinking that he needed help.
It Worked!
But Randy was committed. The Aqua Dam had done a great job at keeping the water away from his property and just as it was reaching its limits, the rain stopped and slowly the water level began to lower.
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His crazy contraption had saved his home! While it hadn’t been cheap, looking around his neighbours which had suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage, he had come away unscathed.
Change Of Attitude
News channels around the world which had captured Randy alone and safe in his home amid a major flood were desperate to interview him and learn more about the Aqua Dam. He had beaten all the odds and they wanted to hear how.
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And as for his neighbours, who had laughed and mocked him, they all came and apologised to Randy and admitted that they should have listened to the man. All in all, everyone finally gave Randy the respect he deserved all along.