Dutch Cove, Crabtree communities feel the sting

Aug. 20—The ferocity of Tropical Storm Fred pummeled the Dutch Cove community, turning small creeks into roaring waterfalls and rivers,

"All the cars are under water, a trailer went down the river and bridges were under water. Never in our lives have we seen anything like this," said Ana Medina Henry, a homeowner in Dutch Cove.

Banks are torn out, machinery is strewn all over, and creeks have cut new channels — including the creek behind Henry's house that's 15 feet from where it used to be. Property damage for the Henrys included washed out driveways and a flooded barn — which prompted a rescue operation in the pouring rain. But Henry said she can't complain after witnessing the devastation around her.

"A police officer lives across from our home and had to move out," she said. "The basement was crumbling and they had just refinanced and redone the bathroom. He is such a hard-working man, and when this hit, he was helping everybody else move out."

The Henrys' daughter, Jazmin Lopez, who lives nearby now has a river in the backyard outside the baby's room — one that never existed before.

"She told us that since no one could get to her, she was wondering if it would be best to stay inside or run out with Isla and try to get away," Henry said. "It was terrifying as we were all helping each other down over in the Cove and didn't realize she could also have been in danger."

When a tree fell across the road, a woman in the community needed to reach family members and was seen chopping at the tree with an axe. Soon others came to the rescue and a path out was possible.

"We saw a community really come together in a way we never thought it would," she said. "Everybody wanted to help everybody."

Iron Duff/Crabtree

Adrian Presnell, who farms in the Crabtree community has crops along the Pigeon River and Liner Creek, both of which flooded this week.

He sustained crop damage, but isn't inclined to even complain.

"We saw nothing like they did in Bethel," he said. "We lost some tomatoes and pumpkins and some silage corn we had on rented land. It was bad, but them boys over in Bethel took a lot harder hit that we did."

Presnell said the water was out of the banks and extended probably 100 feet into the fields. The rising waters prompted him to move his cattle to higher ground, and all were spared.

"This thing happened in about 30 minutes, between 3-4 p.m." he said. "I left to go feed some cows on the river right at 3 p.m. and looked at the rain gauge. It showed 3 inches. I was gone 30 minutes, and when I came back it was at 6 inches. All this flooding had done happened in less than an hour."

Crabtree cattle farmer Steve Ross had about five acres of feed corn in a field where Richland Creek flows into the Pigeon. The corn was standing in up to 8 feet of water Wednesday morning. The corn is still upright, however, and he is still trying to assess whether the field will be a total loss, or whether it will be safe to feed to cattle.

In other fields along the Pigeon, Ross escaped the major damage he saw in the floods of '04. He and his son, Justin, lost a small crop of heirloom tomatoes, but their 4-plus acres of roma tomatoes grown in raised beds escaped major damage.

While crop insurance may cover losses, the time and labor to dig out is incalculable.

"It's going to take a whole lot of work to get it (the flood damage) undone, and you don't get paid for that," he said.

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