Heavy rains cause flooding problems for some DeKalb County homeowners

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The heavy rain we saw Monday night turned the backyards of some DeKalb County homes into rivers. Residents say it's not the first time it's happened. 

"It looked like Niagra falls. It was horrible, but there's nothing you can do I wanted to get out here and stop it, but you can't stop that," Cheryl Hollifield said. 

Luckily water didn't get into her main home, but water did get inside a storage area under the house. 

"Last night I kinda worried about it because it was coming up over the steps there. And it doesn't have that much further to go. But hopefully the bricks that I put up here stopped a lot of it," Hollifield said. 

It was a similar story at Morgan Rowe's house Monday night. Her steps looked more like a waterfall. 

"Like a kayak could come down and go into the street," Rowe said. 

"Like every time it rains really heavy you're like oh my God is this gonna be the one that comes in my house," she added. 

When the water receded it left quite the muddy mess behind. 

And it's happened before most recently on August 11. 

"We're told it's a one in a ten-year flood, but that's not the case it continues to flood," Rowe said. 

"It's affecting everyone on the street, and it does affect property values how can I sell my house if I know I can get the underground of it flooded," she added. 

It's something they say they've been dealing with for years.

"I don't want to think my life is going to be lived here the rest of it and be flooded every time it rains."

DeKalb County officials say there is a housing development being built behind the neighborhood. They say a stop work order was issued on August 8. The county said it will remain in effect until the developer puts in effective erosion control.