Homeowners Urged to Raise Homes Due to Flood Threat

More than 80 Lake Hiawatha homeowners, including some who started to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, are being told they’re legally required to raise the elevation of their foundations or demolish their homes.

Township officials sent 65 letters to homeowners last month and on Wednesday said another 20 letters would be sent by Thursday morning. Township inspectors have determined the homes in question suffered enough damage from the Aug. 28 hurricane to trigger federal insurance program requirement to raise them above the 100-year flood plain.

Mayor James Barberio said he initially stopped some of the letters from being sent while township officials sought clarification of the regulations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the flood insurance program. He said on Wednesday, after being asked about the letters, that the remainder will be sent “to be consistent” while the township continues to wait for a response.

“I stopped the letters because I was looking for answers,” Barberio said.

Barberio said he’s heard from residents who already poured tens of thousands of dollars into repairing homes in the aftermath of the Rockaway River flooding a portion of the Lake Hiawatha section of the township. Some of those residents now face the prospect of demolishing those homes or trying to raise them, with no guarantee they will survive the process. The township letter threatens a daily fine for failing to comply with a local ordinance implemented in 1986 to be in line with federal regulations.

Barberio said he would “recommend” that anyone receiving such a letter stop working on their homes until township officials determine what they are required to do. The letters are directed at homeowners in the 100-year-flood plain with damage exceeding 50 percent of the market value of their homes, without the land.

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11/2/11 Lindenhurst Weather Forecast

This Afternoon: Sunny, with a high near 57. Northwest wind between 3 and 5 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Light south wind.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 58. West wind between 6 and 11 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. Northwest wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. North wind between 8 and 15 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 52.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 40.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60.

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City Crews Look for Causes of Sewage Backup

After raw sewage oozed into several businesses, many owners want to know who is responsible for the costly clean up. City crews are examining the cause of a sewage backup in the 3100 block of south Campbell that closed the doors to at least one business. A sign on the door of All Star Barber Shop said "Closed due to the city sewer line clogging. Open Friday."

The owner, Zeb Thomas, showed KSPR News a picture of the barber shop covered in murky water and sewage. “The water and sewage was at least up to here flooding out into the parking lot,” Thomas said. Thomas says even the outside of his business was a mess. “There was water and sewage like a waterfall coming out of here,” Thomas said while pointing to a pipe.

He says not only was he disturbed by what he saw but also what he smelled. He says the stench was overwhelming. “It's not just people walking in and dry heaving,” Thomas said. “We've had one or two people actually throw up.” Thomas isn't alone. “I found that I had raw sewage coming right through the bathroom, right onto the rug,” Hair Classics, Inc. Salon owner Jeanne Batchelor said. “It was completely flooded. It was so thick you could not see the carpet.” Like Thomas, Batchelor hired professional cleaners. Owners say a city sewer line backup caused the damage.

City crews first got a call about issues near a restaurant. "We received a call about some sewage issues at Campbell and Battlefield around Lone Star restaurant,” Springfield Environmental Services Director Steve Meyer said. City crews flushed the line. They then got calls from five businesses in the shopping center south of Lone Star Steakhouse. “I do everything I can to be a responsible business owner by keeping my license up by keeping insurance on the place,” Batchelor said. “I feel like somebody needs to be responsible for this just as they ask me to be responsible.”

City crews are using a closed circuit television camera to determine the cause. “If there is a break down in our line and we do determine it was our fault, then yes they will make a claim and we will make a payment,” Meyer said.

Thomas says he hopes that's the case “It's not our fault,” Thomas said. “The city sewer line backed up and caused this to happen. That's the bottom line.”

Meyers says it is unusual for a backup to occur when it is not raining. Late Tuesday, he said crews found grease is an issue but they are still trying to determine an exact cause of the sewage backup.

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Infrastructure Damage Widespread

Because of a presidential disaster declaration, most counties in Montana are eligible for both public-sector and individual assistance programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA picks up 75 percent of the cost of qualifying repairs to public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, plus additional money for mitigation expenses for projects that reduce the likelihood of damage in future floods. That could mean that instead of just fixing a bridge approach to its original condition, FEMA would provide extra money for improvements that would make the bridge less vulnerable the next time a flood threatens.

The state is responsible for a 25 percent match, which comes from the state’s disaster fund, said Monique Lay, spokeswoman for Montana Disaster and Emergency Services. To be eligible for the state match, county commissioners must impose a 2-mill emergency levy.

Two mills doesn’t add up to much against the scope of this disaster. In Musselshell County, it’s about $17,000. In Big Horn County, two mills comes to about $40,000. It’s about $68,000 in Carbon County and $245,000 in Yellowstone County.

Yellowstone County DES coordinator Duane Winslow said Yellowstone County commissioners decided not to impose the emergency 2-mill levy, and did not seek reimbursement from FEMA for about $200,000 in flood-related infrastructure repairs.

Individual assistance to flood victims comes in the form of grants, and no match is required. It applies to primary residences and is designed to pay the cost of making a home livable again, not to replace everything that was lost.

Musselshell County

Jeff Gates, Musselshell County DES coordinator, said in late September that the county would be seeking nearly $4.25 million to cover infrastructure repairs.

“I know of at least another $300,000 coming in,” he said.

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Residents Clean Up After Flood

Parts of South Florida are cleaning up and drying out after days of downpours left behind a major mess.

Flooding forced many residents from their homes, Monday morning. While others were left stranded when their vehicles could not make it through rising waters in the streets.

Tuesday, residents at a community on Northwest Fourth Avenue, off of Eighth Street, spent the day picking up the pieces as flood waters began to slowly receded. While some residents pulled clothes from their apartments that reeked of mildew to hang up and dry out, others cleaned out cars that had flooded with water, even though those cars would not start.

Wilton Petibo had his home flooded. "This morning, all the people woke up and put all their clothes outside," he said.

More than 100 residents have turned to the Red Cross for help. Brian Duff and his family sought shelter from the Red Cross. He said his apartment was completely damaged by the water. "Everything's ruined," he said. "The sheet rock's falling off the walls. It smells like something died in there. The mildew smell is already starting to kick in. The windows are fogged up from just the water being in the house."

His wife, Cassandra Duff, added, "all my baby photo albums, it's all gone. We lost it all."

The Red Cross is now waiting for numbers from assessment teams, which will spend Thursday visiting one neighborhood after another. Danny Torress, an American Red Cross Volunteer, explained, "We'll make the determination whether or not we'll have to continue to have the shelter open, and we'll see. But we won't be able to do that until we do the numbers."

The Red Cross reported that they served about 200 meals to families in need and said they will continue to provide service as long as there is a need. After the assessment teams head, they will report to the state, the county and FEMA. Then, possibly some of these areas could see some aid.

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Family Living in Garage Awaits Compensation

Six months after flood waters ravaged their home in the Richelieu Valley, Dominic Ouimette, his wife and their two children continue live in their garage – it's their best living option at the moment.

With a home too water-damaged to live in and too contaminated to renovate, the Ouimettes are just one of hundreds of families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by more than a month of flooding.

They continue to wait for compensation, and questioning whether they will have the opportunity to rebuild before the snow starts falling.

Pipes will soon freeze, forcing the Ouimettes out.

"It's just signing papers and papers and nothing ever moves, and when we contact civil security and there's never, never, never a follow-up," he said.

The Ouimettes are waiting for authorization to demolish their home and rebuild, but even if they receive that authorization, they still have no idea how much money they'll be entitled to receive.

It's a dilemma Gerard Dutil has heard before. As mayor of neighbouring Saint-Paul-de-l'île-aux-Noix, Dutil said the complaints keep filing in from those prevented from rebuilding because of bureaucratic delays.

"Some people do have the money; some people don't have the money and can't get a mortgage. Contractors won't work for somebody that can't prove that they can pay for it," he said.

Dutil said the town itself is also waiting to be refunded for the money it spent during the flooding and on the ensuing cleanup.

"We don't even know what they're going to pay or how they're going to pay and we can't get the information," he said.

Over the past six months about one third of a promised $18 million in provincial flood relief has been doled out.

Quebec Civil Service is not commenting, but has promised to speed up the process in the face of growing protest.

As for Ouimette, he said he can't comprehend the delay.

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone," he said. "It's really hard."

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Residents Seek Flood Relief

A few East Hanover residents, seeking to prevent a recurrence of flooding damage to homes, approached the township supervisors Monday night.

Gail Wise showed the supervisors pictures of debris washed into neighboring woods and farmland off Swatara Drive and Ono Road. She pointed out that, while the flooding from Tropical Storm Lee in September was particularly miserable, flooding itself is not an anomaly - some of these homes flood twice a year. One particular property, she added, is littered with trash that washes downstream each time it floods.

"We need flood areas rezoned on Swatara Road and Ono Drive," Wise told the board.

While the township cannot legally rezone for floodplains, Supervisor Tom Donmoyer said that the zoning ordinance does not permit the rebuilding of some damaged properties within the 100-year floodplain.

Any homes with structural damage that exceeds 50 percent of the home's value may not be rebuilt within the floodplain, officials said. The township may purchase the property of residents who meet such flood stipulations.

While working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Donmoyer learned of a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. With that in mind, the supervisors approved the application for the grant program to assist in purchasing qualifying homes. The township has until Saturday to send FEMA the grant application and letter of interest.

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