Matthew flooded them out; Florence could do the same
That's a day Hopkins and his family won't soon forget. One minute the floodwater was lapping at their front step. The next, it was coming into their house, so high that rescue workers used a canoe to get Hopkins' wife to safety.
Hopkins estimates that about 6 inches of water covered the first floor of his home, enough to ruin almost everything. It was the same story for many other homeowners in Stonebridge, a higher-end neighborhood off
The creek is the source of the residents' problems.
Hopkins' neighbor, former Terry Sanford High School Principal
"If we get as much rain as they are saying, we will have the same problems," said Miller, who had to rebuild the first floor of his home after Hurricane Matthew. Miller said it took six months to rebuild, and he will never recoup all of his losses.
"I'm fearful" of Hurricane Florence, said Miller, who had gone to
Since Hurricane Matthew, Miller has been a leading neighborhood advocate, attending Fayetteville Stormwater Division meetings and trying to get the city to do more to stop -- or at least limit -- the flooding.
So far, he said, the city has done little to improve
"Mike and I both are living in a constant state of worrying," Miller said.
There's not much else they can do. Unlike other areas of the city, their neighborhood doesn't qualify for public assistance.
The city has agreed to buy and raze at least 21 homes that lie in floodplains and were severely flooded by Hurricane Matthew. The money comes from the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program -- or HMGP. Under the program, the
City officials sent letters to about 675 property owners whom they thought may qualify for HMGP funding, which can be used to buy and demolish eligible homes, or elevate or rebuild them. The city received more than 200 responses from people wanting to join the program. Of those, only 21 homes have qualified.
The purpose of HMGP is to ensure that the same losses don't reoccur during the next natural disaster.
But
Reinstein said he arranged a meeting recently with Miller and other neighborhood residents, along with representatives of the Governor's Office,
"The best option would be for residents to have their properties bought out but there currently is no funding identified to do so," Reinstein said in an email. "It's really in the hands of the State."
Miller believes his flooding problems are caused by the tremendous amount of development in areas that drain into
When he built his home in 2002, Miller said, only the back of his land was in the floodplain. To be safe, he said, he had the house constructed 3 feet higher than what was deemed necessary at the time.
At some point, Miller said, redrawn maps showed that his and surrounding homes were in the floodplain, and residents were told to buy flood insurance. After Hurricane Matthew, he said, the maps now show that the back of his property is in a floodway, a term
Miller thinks a solution, other than buying out the property owners, is to dredge and widen
Miller's neighborhood was not the only one along
Reinstein said state officials have told the city not to dredge and widen the creek because of extremely high cost and environmental concerns.
The city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on stream debris removal through grant funding from the nonprofit
Hopkins operates a food truck, which was also flooded in Hurricane Matthew. He believes removing debris in
But at least he's better prepared this time. So are his neighbors.
Across the street from Miller and Hopkins, Cal and
Miller, Hopkins and the Violettes all have flood insurance, but they aren't taking any chances, not with the memories of Hurricane Matthew still so fresh in their minds.
Within the next day or so, they will have finished cleaning out their garages and moving everything on their lower floors to higher ground.
There is only one thing left.
"Just pray that we don't flood again," Miller said. "That is all we can do."
Staff writer
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