He had been out of town to help his aunt repair her summer home. When he reached his house on Y Street and Avenue D three days later, Michalk stood shocked at damage from 1-foot-deep water in the building.
"We have to gut my house, tear the Sheetrock out of the walls at least 4 feet up," said Michalk, who has lived in his downtown Katy home more than 10 years. "All the damages will probably cost $80,000 to $90,000 to repair. I have no flood insurance."
Aid came from members of Kingsland Baptist Church, who helped tear out Michalk's moldy wallboard and cabinets days after historic flooding hit the Houston region.
Local emergency officials praised such groups' role in assisting those hit by flooding and said cooperation went well between agencies conducting rescues and otherwise helping residents. But they also said the flood exposed needs for improvement related to flood response and communication with the public.
Lessons from the flood
The city of Katy's fire department, backed by groups such as Katy ISD police, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens and the Harris County Sheriff's Office, made more than 75 high-water rescues in the area, mostly north by Cypress Creek.
"We had air boats with the game wardens and received a bus from (Katy ISD) for those that were rescued to be transported out," said Maria Galvez, emergency management coordinator at the city of Katy Office for Emergency Management. "Neighbor was helping neighbor, friend helping friend."
Eight people died from the floods in the Greater Houston area, but none in the Katy ISD boundaries, district spokesperson Denisse Coffman said.
High water affected downtown Katy and along South Mayde Creek and Kingsland Boulevard. Flooding extended from Brookshire east to the Addicks and Barker reservoirs and north to Cypress Creek communities.
In the city of Katy, 112 residencies and 31 businesses sustained damage estimated at $10.3 million, Galvez said. Hundreds of homes outside the city were affected by floods fueled by a storm dropping between 12 and 17 inches of rain.
Among the worst hit areas were Bear Creek and Bear Creek Village subdivisions, where 308 homes flooded, according to the Harris County Office of Emergency Management.
The Waller County emergency management office aided those affected by flooding between FM 529 and U.S. 90 and also in Brookshire.
Galvez believes communication could have been better to Katy residents, saying that details need to be uploaded faster to the city's website during such events.
And Waller County Office of Emergency Management coordinator Brian Cantrell said response time from emergency personnel could improve. He noted that about two hours passed until emergency personnel were fully organized once the flooding became worrisome.
He and Galvez said purchasing added air boats and high-water vehicles could help the response when roads flood.
In Katy, police could improve how quickly they block streets during flooding, Katy police Capt. Byron Woytek said.
City officials also had problems with residents driving past barricades, some seeking to drive through high water for amusement.
This month, Harris County Office of Emergency Management will host personnel from Katy and other emergency management offices in the county to discuss what improvements are needed, according to county OEM spokesperson Francisco Sanchez.
"We're going to identify quick fixes like, for example, data that has info on where the lowest points are in our bayous," Sanchez said. "For long-term fixes …. one of the things that could be done better is - how do we get all major thoroughfares in Houston that are not state highways being posted online in one place and being updated on a regular basis?"
Other issues, he said, are how to better barricade flood-prone locations such as highway underpasses.
'Phenomenal rainfall' recorded in the area
The Harris County Flood Control District's upcoming projects include creating a $6 million flood basin on the intersection of FM 529 and Greenhouse Road near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs as well as a feasibility study for potential South Mayde Creek flood projects, according to Alan Black, the district's engineering director.
The district has spent more than $1.5 billion in projects throughout the county in 15 years but is limited in what it can do on a year-to-year basis, Black said. The district receives about $60 million annually from property taxes and seeks grants from other resources such as federal disaster relief funds.
"There's no one smoking gun to fix all the problems. There's only so much funding every year," Black said. "The amount of rain that fell is tremendous. I think people are reasoning that a phenomenal rainfall brought a phenomenal flood, and people responded in a phenomenal way. There are limits to what any flood structure can take."
Said Cantrell, "I think most residents understand that when you have that many inches of rain, you're going to have problems no matter what."
At his Avenue D home, Michalk is hoping to receive aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA, he said, "can afford to write me a $25,000 check."
On April 25, President Barack Obama issued a disaster declaration for Harris County, making flood victims eligible for assistance likely to total millions of dollars. Katy's other two counties, Waller and Fort Bend, have not received the declaration.
Galvez urges Katy residents to report flood damage on www.cityofkaty.com, which could potentially assist in other Katy areas receiving federal aid, as well as businesses.
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