A self storage facility in El Paso, Texas named Franklin Self Storage may have been the cause behind a home flooding. Three homeowners’ residences were impacted by flooding and damage by heavy rains and they are citing the erection of the rock wall as the source. The homes were located on Swede Johnson Drive – adjacent to the self storage facility located at 6950 Helen of Troy Drive.
The wall’s construction started within the past year but it was never finished and no one from the self storage facility is willing to comment on the matter. According to statements given by to the residents, the area never experienced flooding prior to the wall’s construction.
"It had never happened in all the seven years that I've lived here and we've had some pretty bad rainstorms and we've never had any kind of flooding like this," said Cindy Garibay, whose home suffered thousands in damage.
Residents claim that it was the unfinished rock wall on the Franklin Self Storage property that diverted the water and caused heavy damage to their homes.
"By the time I got back to the back yard, the water had already broken through the back rock wall and it was about two feet deep in my backyard," Garibay said. "It was really scary. The furniture was floating. Huge potted plants were just floating by and then I noticed the rock wall on this side had also been torn down."
Margarita Mora’s home also suffered from heavy damage. "It was so terrible that I thought we were going to lose the house," Mora said. "I think it was bad planning. I don't know about the engineers or architects or who did it, but everybody went wrong who had something to do with this."
It's a monstrosity," Garibay said. "I call it the great wall of El Paso. If it was inspected, why was it approved if its incomplete? If f you look at it its not complete. This wall was built to keep the storage units from getting flooded, but now its our problem I guess"
According to ABC, an official from they City said permits were issued for the storage property, which only allowed work to be done "according to code” but stopped short of commenting further, saying they are looking into the cause.
