Alligators swim over fence into Texas woman's flooded yard

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A Texas woman whose fenced-in back yard was flooded by waters from Tropical Storm Harvey shared video of an unexpected side effect -- swimming alligators.

Arlene Kelsch of Missouri City, near Lake Olympia, said the inside of her house has managed to stay dry amid the flooding from Harvey, which hit Texas as a hurricane Friday and was later downgraded to a tropical storm, but her yard is under several feet of water.

Kelsch posted a video to Facebook showing an alligator swimming in her yard, and she panned the camera to show the gator had been joined by a second reptile.

The video shows how the floodwaters rose above a section of her fence, allowing the alligators to swim into the pond that used to be her back yard.

"Holy crap was my reaction. I felt relatively safe seeing them; it's kind of cool. As long as I don't open my door, I'm fine, but it's still a little creepy," Kelsch told the Houston Chronicle.

She said alligators aren't the only wild animals wandering in the flood.

"We have seen some snakes. That's really what I am keeping an eye out for inside my house! Residents here in Lake Olympia will have sightings in the spring of baby alligators, but never inside our backyards," Kelsch said.