Family can’t return home after flood
Terry Davis had seen water in his basement before, but he wasn’t prepared for the destruction caused to his home from flooding last month.
“I woke up around 8:30 from a big crash,” Davis said. “I opened the basement door and saw daylight, mud, cinderblocks and water.”
Davis lives at 203 Center St., or at least he did until the ravaging flooding on May 1 and 2 that caused millions of dollars of damage in Adair County and led to deaths in Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.
The basement wall collapsed on Sunday morning and water was quickly filling the house. Davis and his daughter evacuated the house and he called 911 so that utilities could be disconnected.
As the torrential rains continued, Davis broke out windows in the basement to help keep water from overflowing the basement and flooding the top floor. When it was all said and done, the water stopped at the second step from the top of the basement stairs.
Davis moved out of the house and he and his daughter are temporarily living with his parents. At this point, Davis is unsure of what the future holds or how he can recover from the costly damage to his home.
Davis signed up with FEMA and has already received a check, but it only covers half the costs. He is appealing the cost of repairs that FEMA assessed to determine their assistance, but doesn’t know at this time if he will receive additional aid.
For instance, Davis said he received estimates that it will cost $6,000 to replace his heat and air system. FEMA provided $2,000 for the unit. Davis also applied for an emergency low-interest loan but did not qualify.
He believes repairs to the house will cost somewhere around $24,000. He has turned in estimates to FEMA from contractors for excavation, wall and block repair, and to replace the HVAC system.
As a single parent and a merchandiser for Pepsi, Davis knows his financial options are limited without federal aid. He continues to visit FEMA officials weekly in hopes they will have some good news for him.
In addition, Davis has met with Mayor Pat Bell and councilman Charles Grimsley, hoping the city can help reroute water that drains toward his house during heavy rains.
Davis’s house sits at the bottom of a slope and water flows from Bowen Street and Page Street. Page Street runs parallel with Center Street and Bowen Street intersects Page Street just above Davis’s property.
Water flows from the intersection between two houses on Page Street then turns into Davis’s yard.
Davis had mentioned the issue to city employees in the past but never really asked the city to visit the issue until now. He attended the June city council meeting but arrived too late to address the council during the public comment period.
Davis said there is a sump pump in his basement and he uses his basement for very little because it does flood on occasion. During the past four years, water has covered the bottom step in the basement twice and at least on two other occasions, water covered the basement floor by two inches.
“Ground water is literally washing me away one rain at a time,” Davis said.
For now, Davis said he does not want to invest the money it will take to repair his house knowing that flooding could happen again.
“If I do this, I don’t want this to happen again in five years,” he said.
Councilman Grimsley brought up water runoff issues at the last council meeting and asked if there is any federal funding available to help cities deal with situations like this.
While Grimsley said he is unsure of what the city’s responsibilities are with cases such as Center Street, he said the city should take the lead to find a solution.
“I can’t give him an exact answer because I don’t know, but that’s where the city steps in to find out,” Grimsley said.
Grimsley said he would like to see if grant funds are available to help the city address water runoff issues across town.
“We need to look at our town as a whole at these areas and find out where water should be diverted and where funding should come from,” he said.
Mayor Bell was not available for comment prior to deadline.
By Sharon Burton
snburton@windstream.net
