There is nothing quite so humbling as walking down the main street in your town and realizing it is there by the grace of God himself. My small town is in the process of rebuilding from last fall’s flooding. A few weeks ago, as my youngest son and I walked down to the newly opened convenience store in Athens, Pennsylvania, tears came to my eyes. I knew the street we walked upon at that very moment was covered in water just a few months ago. All around us, rebuilding was taking place. Honestly, I do not know if my tears were of joy because of the rebuilding or sadness at my neighbors losing everything.
When volunteer firefighters came door to door in my small town of Athens, Pennsylvania, back on September 7, 2011, I never guessed the magnitude of horror coming our way. I knew that we had gotten lots of rain very quickly over the preceding days because Tropical Storm Lee stalled out over our area. This caused the rivers on either side of town to rise. Like so many people in town, I had trusted that the levees would hold the water in the river. I did not want to be in town should the unthinkable happen, as it did in 1972, so I took the voluntary evacuation seriously and was out of town within four hours with my youngest son.
In 1972, our town had experienced flooding of epic proportions when Hurricane Agnes stalled over the area. I was a child of 5 back then, but I still remember that flood. There are lines drawn on certain buildings that mark the water level of that flood, and I have seen them all my life. New marks for the flood of 2011 have been added. The officials installed the levee on the right side of town to keep the Chemung River in place after the 1972 flood. The Susquehanna River had a natural levee.
As dawn broke on September 8, 2011, my small town began to fill with water from the mighty Susquehanna River. By the time darkness fell, some areas had 8 to 9 feet. The water was gone within two days, but it left one huge mess. As the rest of the nation was experiencing the 9/11 ceremonies, my town was starting the recovery process. I joined with my neighbors and countless others who flocked in from other states to help us with cleaning up the mess and supplies. We even had a group called BonaResponds come to our rescue. This group from St. Bonaventure University helps communities that are devastated by natural disasters
I could smell the mix of water, raw sewage, diesel, and everything else that the flood covered my town with each time I opened my front door. It was much worse as I helped clean out the homes on Main and Maple streets, yet I felt compelled to do something. My house just had minor damage due to settling, but just four blocks away, people had lost everything. While cleaning out a home on Maple Street that was a one-story ranch-type with a full cellar like mine, I thanked God that this was not my home. Several of us formed a line and passed bucket after bucket through the line and out to the curb, where it was hauled away. Once finished, we went to the next house and helped there. Later, as the Red Cross meal truck came by with a hot dinner for all of us, I again thanked God for people like those around me who saw beyond themselves and did what they could to help. The chocolate pudding they gave us with the spaghetti was the best birthday meal I ever had. That whole day of reaching out to help others was the best birthday gift I could ever receive.
Approximately 2,000 people found themselves out of their homes when the flood occurred. It is now almost four months after the flooding, and some people are still not in their homes. Some residents will not be going back to their homes. Some of these residents are too afraid it will happen again. Some residents simply do not have enough money to repair their homes. We have tons of low-priced flood-ravaged homes for sale here. They are selling cheaply just so the homeowners can get rid of them. Many homes had gaping holes in the foundation due to the raging water – some were repaired, and others have been torn down.
A few businesses here in town have also been torn down, such as the local Ford garage and our convenience store. Many buildings that held businesses now sit empty or are in the process of being rebuilt. Some of those businesses have relocated elsewhere, but some, such as the local tavern, a salon, a church, and a tanning place, will not be back. Others, such as the American Legion, our local health clinic, and Ashton, our local nursing home, will be reopening in late spring.
All of the businesses in the downtown area were affected, as were hundreds of homes. Three-quarters of our streets here in town were flooded to some degree. Even those people whose streets were not flooded received some damage because of the ground settling. I live four blocks from where the flooding ended, but I, too, received a bit of damage when the ground settled too quickly.
Many people here did not have flood insurance and were told they did not need it. FEMA did give some homeowners money, but in most cases, it was not enough to cover the damages. One resident here was given $28,000 for her home, which suffered a 9-foot hole in the foundation, and the water was 8 feet high on her first floor. She had to strip everything to the studs in her living room, den, dining room, and kitchen. The kitchen had been remodeled a few months prior to the flood, and now she has to do it all over once more. The hole in the foundation and the removal of all the river debris in the cellar had a price tag of a little over $20,000, which left $8,000 to redo her entire first floor. This single mom has taken out loans to redo her house. Like countless others here in town, she is doing what she can to restore her home.
My hometown will never be the same again, but one thing became very visible to me in the aftermath of the flood. Our town and many strangers pulled together and helped accomplish the monumental task of fixing the mess Tropical Storm Lee dealt to us. We are forever indebted to the countless people who came to help us in our time of need. I am proud of my hometown and all of the people who Athens, Pennsylvania, home. We are fighters for sure and will do anything to help each other when the chips are down.