Flood waters drive family from home

April 23, 2011

By COLLEEN MCCARTHY
sdnreporter@yahoo.com

You can still see the water line on the side of Minnie Rogers’ house on W. Main St. where the flood waters from Wednesday’s storms rose above the porch and right through her front door.
Rogers, 69, returned home from the store Wednesday night to find flood water already in her house. She, her daughter and grandson were forced to leave and aren’t sure when they’ll be able to return.
“I can’t come back home anytime soon, and that hurts a lot,” Rogers said. “I didn’t have a fancy house, but it was clean. It just hurts now because I’ve got nothing now.”
Though the water has since receded, there were several inches of water inside the house Wednesday night. The floors are severely damaged throughout the house and furniture is still soaking wet. The electricity was still out on Thursday.
Rogers had never had a problem with flooding in the past. She believes that the cause was the construction that is going on in front of her house. The drainage ditch that runs alongside Main St. is filled with dirt. Rogers does not have flood insurance.
“I’ve got insurance on my house, but I never thought I’d need flood insurance,” Rogers said. “I imagine a lot of people didn’t because we’ve never had this problem.”
Oktibbeha-Starkville Emergency Response Volunteer Services (OSERVS) provided Rogers with a hotel room for three nights, as well as blankets, food and comfort kits. Unfortunately, at this time there isn’t much else they can do.
“We have a limit of three nights that we can provide a motel,” Becky Wilkes from OSERVS said. “They’re worried because they’re not sure what they’re going to do after those three days are up.”
OSERVS is accepting donations for Rogers and her family.
“All I can say is I need help,” she said. “I need help and I don’t know who to turn to.”