Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 3, 1995 TAG: 9507030106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAURICE A. WILLIAMS III STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But he said the flooding his home received last week was worse than any thunderstorm he had never witnessed.
"I was totally unprepared for this," he said. "I'd never seen anything like this."
Taylor and other Garden City residents haven't experienced flooding this extensive since 1985. Others said it was even worse than then. Sunday the residents were coming together to clean flooded basements.
"We just got finished helping them do theirs, and now they're helping us do ours," said Taylor, referring to his next-door neighbor, Cecil Orick. Since Thursday, Orick has used a pump owned by his neighbor, David Combs, to siphon water from his basement into the creek behind his house.
Orick's brother, Jimmy Standifer, and his fiancee, Frances Harris, helped the two families clean out their basements.
"People have to just pitch in and help," said Harris. Before the flood, she said, she and Standifer had considered moving to waterfront property, but she has changed her mind.
Standifer said he thought the city should have a more active role in Garden City's cleanup. "I feel sorry for them," Standifer said. "This is the only place in Roanoke that's messed up."
The residents worry about the sanitation around the damaged area, which has attracted mosquitoes. They also said they have not been able to flush their toilets, and sewage has risen in their basements.
Taylor bought his home a year and a half ago and has remodeled the kitchen, installing new cabinets. The flood damaged his phone lines, forcing him to use a neighbor's telephone to call his insurance company. No agent has arrived, he said. Taylor's insurance, he said, will cover only his home's structure, which is now barely supported by cinder blocks. He said high premiums kept him from insuring his personal property, most of which was destroyed.
"I don't like living like this; I got a lot of money tied up in this thing," he said.
Orick is renting his home and has renter's insurance, but he said the nature of the damage makes his policy useless.
"It covers falling water, not rising water," he said.
Combs lives on the other side of the creek from Taylor and Orick. He said the flood has frightened his children in addition to damaging his home.
"How do you explain to a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old that every time it rains it's not going to flood," Bowers asked. He said when his son saw the rain Saturday, he ran inside and said he wanted to leave.
Taylor and Orick said they have been without telephone service and electricity since Wednesday, despite efforts to restore it.
"I haven't had a hot shower since Wednesday," Orick said.
The men praised the Red Cross, which gave residents disinfectants and cleaning supplies. "The next day they were here," Orick said. "They've done a lot."
Both men said they will rebuild their homes.
"All you can do is start over," Orick said.
Because of the flood, Boyd W. Clement and his wife, Kim, have no choice but to start over. The city condemned the home they were renting over the weekend and plans to demolish it today, they said. The Clements have finished removing their belongings and are staying with relatives. They were cleaning the house Sunday in hopes that they could receive part of the more than $400 dollar security deposit they paid.
"We're hoping something will come through," said Clement. "Our only hope is" the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The brick that was a part of the Clement's home now lies on the ground. A yellow condemned sign graces the front and rear of the house.
The Clements said their sons also were upset. Although their youngest son, Cody, is blind, he can tell something was wrong and has trouble sleeping.
The Clements said they are depending on the security deposit to pay for a new place to live. "We're renters; we have no insurance. We're in a position now where we're homeless and helpless."
Taylor said he and his neighbors will continue to help each other, but they need others, too.
"All help is appreciated. Money is not the problem - it's help.''
by CNB