Politics & Government

Two Years After Flood, Austell Still Hurting

With possible shutdown of FEMA this week, residents are losing hope in receiving aid from federal government as they struggle to rebuild their homes, businesses and lives.

Two years and almost a week have passed since the city of Austell and other nearby areas were flooded, and the homes, businesses and lives the residents had built were destroyed. Two years ago, this was The Week After. The waters had receded, but the residents and businesses were broken, grappling with questions of how to move forward, how to rebuild, how to walk away.

Seven hundred and thirty-five days later, several people in Austell say that little has changed and their questions remain unanswered.

“Two years later, families in my district are still rebuilding their lives,” stated state Rep. Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) in an email. “For some they've rebounded, sadly in more debt, but getting things back on track. For others, the flood compounded the already difficult financial situation they were in and they are faced with very difficult choices.”

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Some people just walked away. Others, like Trish Mitchell, struggle to hold on.

Mitchell, 64, a former resident of Austell’s Sweetwater Valley Condominiums, wants to know, “How can I get out of this without hurting myself?”

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Mitchell remembers coming home from her niece’s wedding in Maryland around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2009 to find almost 11 feet of water had flooded her two-story condo. She couldn’t even drive down her street. She lost things like a new TV, which had not been taken out of the box. She also lost pieces that held many memories, like photographs of her husband who passed away in 2001 and handwritten recipe books from her grandmother.

“You can’t replace those things,” Mitchell said.

She has since moved in with her boyfriend, but continues to pay her mortgage and her homeowner association’s dues with the hope that she will eventually be compensated with federal aid for her damaged home.

“Nothing is being done for us at this point because of all the other disasters,” said Mitchell said.

FEMA’s Possible Shutdown is Blow to Disaster Victims

However, with the impending Federal Emergency Management Agency’s shutdown by Wednesday, Mitchell and many others in her situation are losing hope. The Senate is set to vote today on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bill, which totals $1.1 trillion, with $3.7 billion set aside for FEMA.

With this year’s tornadoes, hurricanes and floods, the federal disaster agency has been brought to its knees. FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund had $175 million as of Friday morning.

“It’s absolutely unfair to anyone who’s had any disaster in the last few years,” Mitchell said. “It’s a huge mess. I have no clue as to the answers. I don’t think anybody does.”

South Cobb Commissioner Woody Thompson said the county is only now receiving money from FEMA. “It’s a shame.”

In June, the county began demolishing some of the 33 flood-damaged homes it purchased.

Mitchell did have flood insurance before the flood and though she did not disclose the exact amount she was compensated, she said, “I’ve invested it. It wasn’t enough to rebuild, let me put it to you that way.” After paying her for her damages, State Farm cancelled her policy.

Mitchell was not one of the 23 homeowners whose home was purchased by the city through its Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program this spring, but she would have been one of the 61 residents whose home fell within the redrawn 100-year-floodplain area.

It could take up to five years for data to be approved and funding to be distributed throughout Georgia for the 2009 flood victims, who will not see a cent if they stopped paying their mortgage, even on homes deemed “unlivable.”

“I’m stuck paying my mortgage every month and I don’t even live there,” Mitchell said. The current structure is still unfit for living.

“You can still smell the musty, moldy-type smell” when inside the home, she said.

Demolition of City-Purchased Homes to Begin This Month

In July, At the August city council meeting, Public Works Director Randy Bowens gave the city

As of time of publication, no final selection of companies has been announced to the public, and all calls made to city employees last week were not returned. However, the city issued on Sept. 8 a third status report for its HMGP stating that demolition should begin this month. The companies to demolish the homes were not named.

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Thompson said he is working with county officials to unroll a program that may help flood victims receive some financial assistance. The program would allow the county to use money generated from stormwater fees to purchase property for its current assessed property value, not the assessed value of the home before the flood.

“We’re trying to be as flexible as we can,” Thompson said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Two lights in the city’s bleak situation have been the recent approval of a in May, and

When she thinks about the flood and the subsequent issues yet to be untangled, Mitchell gets upset. However, she cannot help but feel grateful as well.

“I consider myself extremely fortunate…I feel very fortunate and blessed for what I do have. I thank God that we’re still alive,” Mitchell said.

Throughout the week, South Cobb Patch will continue to provide coverage of the state of the city two years after the flood. If you would like to tell your story, please email kiri.walton@patch.com.


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