Victims wait for water to recede
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 13, 2016 10:00 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Lois Waters stares across the floodwaters at the corner of Bunche Drive and Simpson Street Wednesday toward her home that she has not been able to access since Saturday when she and her husband were evacuated by boat.
Thomas Waters stands at the edge of the high waters at Bunche Drive and Simpson Street.
His hands are in his pockets; his toes near the floodwaters brought in from Hurricane Matthew and its aftermath.
He's lived here for 50 years.
"It's worse than what we saw with Floyd," said Waters' wife, Lois. "I've never seen it like this before."
Thomas' focus remains fixed on his home - 219 Bunche Drive - where the water is up to the steps.
The Neuse River crested Wednesday morning at 29.74 feet, nearly one full foot higher than the record set by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Many city residents on the southern and western side of the city cannot get to their homes.
The Waterses were evacuated Saturday by boat during the height of the storm.
Lois said the couple had to leave all of their valuables and belongings inside their home and get to safety as quickly as possible. She is fretting returning to her home and seeing the extent of the damage.
"We had to get out of here as fast as we could," she said.
She watched the water pour into Bunche Drive and the surrounding neighborhoods from House Street and John Street, filling the sides of the street before coming up the middle.
"It just kept rising," she said.
The Waterses don't have flood insurance. They will suffer the full brunt of the loss incurred by the flood.
"Well, I don't know right now what we'll do," Lois said. "I just don't know."
The story is the same for many residents. While the water has hit its peak, it is not predicted to return below flood level until Monday.
When that happens, the future and each family's recovery is a gamble.
"I'm scared it's gone into my house," said Carolyn Raynor, who lives in the Little Washington community on Alabama Avenue. "It got to my porch last time when Floyd hit."
The uncertainty of what the water will leave when it recedes has many residents -- who physically cannot return to their homes -- anxious about what they will find in the wake of the destruction.
"You just don't know what you're going to find when you go home," Raynor said. "This is devastating, it really is."
Latonya Raynor, who lives with Carolyn, said the two cannot get to their house by any road.
"I'm scared we've lost our house," Latonya said. "I'm scared we're going to lose all our stuff. They knocked on our doors and told us we had to leave. That's never happened before, not even in Floyd. I'm so anxious to get back."
Margaret Williams also stood at the flood waters on Bunche Drive Wednesday, looking at her house near the corner of Bunche and Simpson, at 224 Bunche Drive.
She has lived there since 1964, and said she hesitated to come and look at her house.
"I just hope that it didn't get in," Williams said. "I've been here so long; I know this is material, but I have so many memories tied to so many valuable items in my house I just worry about the destruction. I care about my things in my house, but our lives are more important."
For many - like Thomas and Lois Waters for whom the material loss is certain to be great - they are glad they made it out of the storm and subsequent historic flood alive.
"If we lose everything in the house, I'm still here," Lois said. "I'm not going to worry about the water. If I lose my house, I lose my house. There's somewhere else I can stay."
Meawhile, across Goldsboro in the West Haven community, residents there are facing many of the same difficulties as their counterparts to the south and to the east.
John and Rose DeGraffenreidt walked across West Haven Wednesday to check on their home and belongings.
Much of the area near the public housing neighborhood remains under water, and the couple is concerned they could suffer loss because of their location near the Neuse River.
"It's very devastating," John said. "It seems like the water is coming this way."
Across West Ash Street, St. Mark Church of Christ remains partially under water, and Daniels Furniture, near U.S. 117, is flooded. Neighborhoods nearby, including many in the downtown area, are still under water with sections of roadway blocked off by yellow caution tape and orange and white barricades.
The DeGraffenreidts know others have suffered more, and they remain concerned about the widespread devastation.
"It's real bad that way," he said about flooding near the U.S. 117 corridor. "People have lost their homes. Cars are submerged."
During the worst of the storm Saturday, the West Haven apartments flooded. By morning, the waters receded, giving the couple enough time to leave.
Their days are spent checking their belongings for damage, and their nights are spent at their daughter's home on higher ground in the city.
"We leave every night because of concern of the Neuse River," he said. "We haven't experienced any loss -- yet."
After the storm, they learned that an elderly neighbor started having problems with his pacemaker because of stress.
"It started giving him life shocks," she said.
That's when they decided to take him to Wayne Memorial Hospital where he continues to recover.
The loss of electricity wasn't a major concern, since service flickered on and off in the aftermath. The housing area has had electricity most of the week.
One of the more difficult aspects of the widespread devastation is feeling left in the dark and alone during a week when many people are just trying to survive.
"We don't want to be forgotten," he said. "Hopefully, they'll come out here and help those that have lost their homes and their possessions. We might live in the projects, but we have high hopes and dreams.
"There's some good people in the projects. They just need help and encouragement and assistance at this time."
The West Haven community on West Ash Street, near Alabama Avenue, has many elderly residents. One woman rolled across the grounds Wednesday in a wheelchair.
"This is all we have right now," Rose DeGraffenreidt said. "This is our home."
The couple says that no one has visited the neighborhood offering assistance, advice or direction before or after the storm.
"They have not been out here, and that's sad," he said.
What they've learned about the rising levels of the Neuse River has been from their daughter who regularly checks river conditions online.
"That's the sad part," he said. "We had to find out ourselves."
When the waters recede, John DeGraffenreidt plans to reach out to neighbors in need.
"It's a heart-breaking situation," he said.