CNHI News Service Flood victim: ‘Can’t nothing else go wrong’

Photos

Donna Sievert and her son Braden wait at the Red Cross Shelter in Miami, Okla., as a line forms for lunch on Thursday, July 5, 2007. Roger Nomer / The Joplin Globe

Jackie Hamby expresses his frustration with the flooding situation in Miami, Okla., while staying at the Red Cross shelter on Thursday, July 5, 2007. Roger Nomer / The Joplin Globe

D. Davis pushes a dryer back into place on Thursday, July 5, 2007, after evacuating his laundromat a few days earlier ahead of flooding in Miami, Okla. Roger Nomer / The Joplin Globe

Amanda Johnson cradles a couple of cats at the mobile animal shelter in Miami, Okla. on Thursday, July 5, 2007. Roger Nomer / The Joplin Globe

Shannon Huffman takes notes on a couple of dogs at the mobile animal shelter in Miami, Okla., on Thursday, July 5, 2007. Roger Nomer / The Joplin Globe

“It started off just above my ankles. Before I could get my truck loaded, it was up to my back pocket.”

MIAMI, Okla. — Jackie Hamby remains optimistic, even though floodwaters devastated his home and the homes of his neighbors.
“It’s 99 percent scary and 3 percent funny,” he said. “You’ve just got to laugh about it. Can’t nothing else go wrong.”
The “scary” part came Tuesday, when fast-rising waters forced Hamby and more than 1,500 other Miami residents to evacuate.
“It started off just above my ankles,” said Hamby, 55, who lived in a trailer at Serenity Inn. “Before I could get my truck loaded, it was up to my back pocket.”
While he was trying to drive to higher ground, his truck ran out of diesel fuel. Then his transmission went out.
“I lost everything,” Hamby said as he ate lunch Thursday at an emergency shelter at the First Christian Church. He even had to give away his dog, Sis, a dachshund-pug mix he had more than four years.
“I saw the sign on the shelter door that said you couldn’t have pets, so I called and gave her away to some friends,” he said. “Some people are in a situation where all they’ve got is a pet. I’ve woken up every night looking for that dog.”
Nellie Kelly, spokeswoman for the Red Cross, said the church shelter is expected to be open for weeks.
“If anything, we’ll be expanding services,” she said. “The next step will be taking meals into neighborhoods, doing disaster assessment and helping people get back on their feet.”
Donna Sievert, 35, did disaster assessment at her home Thursday.
“The water is out of my house, but it still stinks,” she said. “Our carpets are all wavy. The paint is peeling off the walls. We’ll need new Sheetrock, new cabinets, new floor.”
Sievert, who lives on South Elm Street, said her garage was hit especially hard, and she lost her washer, dryer and a freezer full of meat.
“We were in the middle of remodeling our house. Now we’ll have to start all over,” she said. “The water is still in the back half of our yard.”
Other residents said they are fed up and plan to move.
Larry and Carlean Tinsley last October thought they were moving into their dream home at 401 A St. S.W.
“This is where we were going to stay, but I don’t want to live here anymore,” said Carlean Tinsley, 60. “You don’t know what it is to lose your home until you lose one. You don’t know where to go or who to turn to.”
The Tinsleys, who have lived in Miami all their lives, said they plan to stay in the area, but they are looking for higher ground.
“I’m sure the floors are going to have to be jacked up,” said Larry Tinsley, 61. “The big damage is under the house.”
The couple are staying with their son in Quapaw for now, and waiting to hear from disaster relief officials.
“My wife and I are pretty upset, but we’ll get with FEMA and see what we can do,” Larry Tinsley said. “We’ll have to stay here a while, until the property values get back up.”

Cleanup kits

The Red Cross is distributing cleanup kits to flood victims. The kits include mops, buckets, gloves and other supplies, along with a book of tips for cleaning and repairing damage.
“Generally speaking, floods are the most expensive disaster,” said Kelly. “It’s going to take a while for people to go back to their homes, a while for them to clean up, and it’s going to take a while for things to get back to normal.”

NEO damage

Portions of the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College campus in Miami “are currently floating in several feet of water,” the school said in a statement Thursday. Flooding hit several campus buildings, including Ables Hall, the maintenance department, the art museum, the old gymnasium, the football field house, the Health and Sciences Building, the basements of Dobson and Harrill dormitories, the cafeteria, and campus apartments. The athletic fields also were flooded. The college expects to have a monetary assessment of the damage sometime next week, Poole said.

Greg Grisolano writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.