Tales From the Flood: From Wisconsin cold to North Carolina wet

A little over a year ago Victor de Mancia and his wife Crystal moved to Cruso from Wisconsin, mostly because they were charmed by the beauty of the mountains, but also because they felt oppressed by weather. They were sick of Wisconsin snow.

On August 17 they got a flood instead. Record-breaking levels of water roared down the valley at Cruso, brought on by heavy and prolonged rains high on Cold Mountain. The de Mancia’s home was nearly destroyed, and their property strewn with vehicles, outbuildings and all manner of assorted debris.

What came next, though, was what they consider a flood of blessings. In two short months they’ve experienced extraordinary kindness, shared some of their own, and reached an enormous personal milestone all at once.

“It was a total catastrophe,” Crystal says, “but it brought people to us that will be forever friends – people we never would’ve met otherwise. And right in the middle of it all Victor was called for his immigration exam.”

Victor came to the United States from El Salvador 20 years ago, and he and Crystal, a native Minnesotan, have been married for 12. Just as they tackled this flood recovery – with their heads swirling from all there was to do – they made an unexpected trip to Charlotte, where Victor took the test, passed, and became an American citizen.

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The de Mancias fell in love with the mountains a couple of years ago on vacation and decided to work out the details for a move south. Eventually they found their house in Cruso: a sturdy mid century rancher with blonde brickwork, a nice yard, a pavilion for picnics, and the river nearby.

Crystal and Victor spent the first six months working on the property and home, making it their own. They looked forward to settling in and sharing it with friends. Crystal took a job at Haywood County Animal Services and Victor, a mechanic and handyman, took work in apartment complex maintenance.

They were both at work when the river came up. Unable to reach home, they spent the night on the floor of Victor’s work office in Canton, terrified for their house and pets: four birds, two dogs and a cat.

They had reason to be concerned: when the Pigeon left its banks along their stretch of the river, water crashed into the garage end of their house and swirled down an open stairwell into the basement. When the basement was full, the water burst through a wall at the far end of the house and continued on its way.

The de Mancias made their way home the next day to find their pets rattled but safe and their house a mess. The basement was an awful quagmire, and two walls – one on each end of the house – were badly damaged.

At first, their home was “red-tagged” by the county as a total loss, but they were able to find an engineer, Preston Gregg, of Waynesville, to complete an assessment and cost breakdown so that they could obtain a restoration permit and stay put.

“We’ve been blessed to remain home when so many neighbors were displaced,” Crystal said. “And we were also blessed to have so much help.”

A local couple, Pam and Craig Carter, came by way of New Covenant Church. They were on the scene almost immediately and organized volunteers to help both the de Mancias and their neighbors begin the cleanup.

After the downstairs had been laboriously mucked out, more volunteers from Baptists on Mission Disaster Ministry and Samaritan’s Purse helped remove the ruined furnace and ductwork, power washed the basement, and treated the space for mold. Even more help came from members of the de Mancia’s church, Barberville Baptist, and from old Minnesota friends Doug and Susan Mueller, now in Asheville, who contributed a heat pump and rallied more help from their neighbors.

Victor had the skills to pitch in with the neighbors’ houses as well as his. Among other things he’s a dowser, and he used his talent to help find the wellhead of the elderly couple next door, buried under a few feet of silt.

The couple’s challenges didn’t end within the walls of their home. Because their property is in a particular section of the Pigeon, with level woodland lying inside the curve of the river, it collected an extraordinary amount of flood-borne debris – along with a deceased victim.

Emergency personnel searched their land for days afterward, and when they were gone, the debris remained, including a Toyota pickup wrapped around a tree by the force of the water, outbuildings at odd angles, a recreational vehicle, and countless smaller pieces of furniture, appliances and rubbish. The couple was a bit mystified about what they were supposed to do with all the junk.

But Baptists on Mission came to the rescue once again, helping clear debris with bobcats so that county contractors could haul it away.

There’s still plenty of work to do, and while Haywood County Animal Services held Crystal’s job, Victor was let go when he couldn’t return immediately to work. He’ll soon be looking again.

Still, the de Mancia’s have been amazed by how their new community pulled together in the face of crisis.

“What was also wonderful is that nobody was asking if you were left or right, blue or red, or what color your skin was,” Crystal said. “Instead they asked us what our needs were and how they could help meet them. It was absolutely wonderful.”

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There’s still a lot of work to accomplish to get Haywood residents back on their feet. More than 65 individuals continue to live in the shelter. 114 homes were completely destroyed and more than 700 homes were damaged by flooding.

Well before the floods, our community was facing an affordable housing shortage. Since August 17th, the issue has become mission critical. Through a partnership between Baptists on Mission, the United Way and Mountain Projects, funds have been raised to support more rehab for 52 homes.

Currently, there are seven rapid house rehabilitation jobs that are complete, 26 more that are in process and 16 initial participants that opted for other solutions. If you know a homeowner affected by flooding that needs home rehabilitation, or can refer skilled tradesmen to assist with this work, please contact Bill Martin of Baptist on Mission, 336-408-8393.

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Tales From the Flood: “In A Lifetime I Couldn’t Return This Generosity”

This is the story of Toma and Clara Pop, who came together in Haywood County, nearly lost each other, and found extraordinary grace in their community afterwards.

When the Pop’s Mundy Field home was swept off its foundation in the catastrophic flood of August 17, Toma, 73, went with it. He swam free at the last second and lashed himself to a tree, where he was battered and scraped by floating debris until help came. Clara, 57, waited in a panic at a roadblock near Frank’s Grocery in Bethel, where she’d been stopped by emergency personnel.

Desperately trying phone calls, she finally reached her aunt, Ruby Lee Rhodes, whose house was up the hill behind theirs. Rhodes asked “Are you all ok? Where are you? Where’s Toma?”

“He’s at the house,” Clara said.

“Clara,” Rhodes said, “your house is gone! It’s all to pieces!”

Two months later it’s a beautiful October day on Cove Creek and the Pops are telling their story. They’re housed for the moment in a relative’s home not far from the Cataloochee Divide and a very long way from the nearest flood plain. They’ve lost nearly everything they owned.

Married for seven years, this is the second marriage for both of them. Clara’s family has been in Cruso for generations, while Toma, an immigrant who fled Ceaușescu’s Romania on foot 40 years ago, is a proud first generation citizen, a mechanic who built an American life from scratch. Their lives converged when she worked in Haywood County’s medical community and he was a patient.

Clara

When Clara left work at Haywood Surgical Associates on the day of this story, there was already talk about heavy rain and flood risk. A meeting had been cancelled. Still, she had no real reason to worry, and she checked in with Toma by phone and stopped for a loaf of bread. A half-hour later she crested the hill just past Bethel and pulled up short at the roadblock. She could go no further.

“Once you get to the packing house,” a fireman told her of a familiar Cruso landmark, “there’s nowhere else to go.”

She was stunned. The packing house was just before their house. Both are a pretty good way from the river, and the bottoms at Mundy Field, beneath Sugar Top mountain and Poison Cove Top mountain, are broader than upstream. Still, Clara’s family had always said that the river once ran on their side of the valley and that if enough rain came, it could do it again. She’d never been sure she believed it.

“I have to get to my house, my husband is in there. He isn’t well!” she said, and the fireman began working the radio in the chaos, learning what he could.

Frantically she called hospitals. No luck at Haywood. No luck at Mission. Then short messages began trickling in by radio. They thought he’d been rescued, one message said, another said he’s been rescued, but we don’t know where he is.

At last, hours after she arrived at the roadblock, a call got through from another neighbor, Denver Blalock. “We have Toma,” he said.

Toma

Toma Pop’s big dog Chase was strangely nervous that evening, barking to come inside. He wasn’t allowed in much, plus the weather was rainy and the house was clean. But Toma relented and brought him indoors, just before his brief check-in with Clara.

Not long after he hung up, there was a tremendous roar. The house shuddered and floor tiles popped into the air as the floor flexed.

Mystified, Toma opened the french doors that led to the couple’s mud room. The mud room was gone. And at that moment water rushed in, rising quickly to his chest. Afraid of being caught inside as water rose toward the ceiling and with thoughts he might crawl onto the roof, he plunged out the door into the torrent. He went under, saw light above, came up, and grabbed hold of something –  the gutter at the eave of the house.

The house floated free from its foundation and twisted in the current as he held tight.

“Usually we don’t have trees around our house,” said Toma, “and I looked up and now our house was in the trees.”

He grabbed hold of one of those trees, and with his other hand he took off his belt, wrapped it around a branch, and lashed his wrist tight. There he hung, water to his neck, one arm raised over his head.

He doesn’t know how long he waited – he says it felt like an hour. Eventually he heard neighbors shouting for him as they searched, he called back, and before long members of a Jackson County rescue squad team arrived in a boat. They threw him a life jacket and eventually wrestled him on board.

He was safe.

Neighbors later described a 10-foot wall of water, tumbling down the valley.

Afterwards

It’s been a difficult couple of months for the Pops. A scattering of things were recovered: Toma’s mud-caked guns, some keys, and a few other odds and ends. But most of their belongings are gone and Chase the dog was never seen again. The couple contracted Covid in the aftermath, and while Clara recovered quickly, it’s been harder for Toma, who’s having trouble getting around.

Then there’s the trauma. “Every night when I go to bed, I hear the sounds in my head and taste the water in my mouth,” said Toma.

And Clara lost her family home.

“I’ve lived there all my life. I was raised there,” she said. “My mama worked hard to pay for that house. All those memories were there – it’s hard. I go up the river and all the people I grew up with, their houses are gone.”

“Here I am 57 years old and I’m going to have to start all over again,” Clara said. “I know there’s people more affected than I am, but it’s still really hard. At least I still have my husband.”

The Silver Lining

It’s hard to make sense of such sudden, catastrophic events. The silver lining for the Pops has been the enormous generosity of friends, neighbors, and many total strangers.

“From the moment of the flood on, the generosity of the American took over,” says Toma, lowering his forehead to his hands. “Even now, people ask me if we’re comfortable enough. We have clothes! We have a roof over our heads! What more could we want?”

The community gave them clothing, food, a place to stay – whatever they needed, and a constant stream of support. Riverside Baptist. Co-workers at Haywood Surgical Associates. Many, many more.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Haywood County people are the most wonderful people in the world,” said Clara. “I’ve never felt as loved. You think no one loves you, and then something like this happens.”

Toma nodded.

“What affected us most wasn’t the event,” he said. “A flood is a flood. These things happen. What affected us was what came after.”

Holding both hands in front of his chest and pinching his thumbs to his fingers, Toma shook his head and the tears came.

“Many people who had very little to give, gave us whatever they had,” he said. “In a lifetime I couldn’t return this generosity.”

_________

The Haywood County Rapid Re-Housing drive has raised money for more than 40 houses so far, with more in the pipeline. The original goal of 10 houses has been raised to 50 after a strong local response. The total number of houses in need isn’t yet known.

If you’d like to contribute to rapid-rehousing efforts in Haywood County, we urge you to make a donation to the United Way of Haywood County, 81 Elmwood Way, Suite 140 or PO Box 1139, Waynesville, NC 28786.

If you’d like to learn more about rapid rehousing, please call or email Mountain Projects Executive Director, Patsy Davis, at (828) 492-4124 or [email protected]. Mountain Projects is also accepting donations for a general flood recovery fund.

“We expect the recovery from this flood to take several years,” said Davis.

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Tales from the Flood: Roy and Steve Henson

In the days before the flood came Steve Henson, 57, was in the hospital, undergoing infusion treatment for a serious case of Covid.

But Tuesday the 17th he was home, exhausted, short of breath, and with every intention of a long rest.

Little did he know.

The Henson family lives on property at the upper end of Old Michael Road where US 276 makes a pass over the East Fork of the Pigeon River.

“We’ve lived here our whole lives,” says Steve. “We’re used to high water.”

Even so, that days’ mid-afternoon rain was heavy enough that Steve thought precautions were wise. He climbed into his truck and drove a few hundred yards down to his workshop, situated on the bank of the river, and moved his dump truck to slightly higher ground. Then he headed back home.

In the short three minutes it took him to reach his house, floodwater swept through the valley bottom below and crashed into the family home owned by his father Roy, 86. Steve had no idea. But the phone was ringing, and it was his sister, who’d gotten a call from their dad, who said he was wet up to his knees and didn’t know why.

“Water’s coming in everywhere,” he’d told her.

Steve rushed back down the drive, but was stopped short by a deep flow where just minutes before there’d been a roadway. He was at a standstill, and looking out across the valley through the rain he spotted his dump truck. “It was swimming in circles like a duck,” he said.

His father’s house was 200 feet away, across a chest-deep current. There was no question of wading. “My oxygen levels were really low. If I’d waded and fainted, I’d have been gone.”

At that point, he said, everything felt dreamlike.

Roy waited in the house, which luckily was situated somewhat long ways to the flow. That bought time, but a Cadillac SUV, floating along at a good clip, crashed through french doors into a converted garage, letting more water in. Inside the house it rose, reaching six inches at the highest level of the structure.

But that’s where it stopped rising. The water had come like a rushing wall, but in this part of the valley there’s a bit more room and the torrent spread out.

A neighbor soon arrived to help Steve across, and they snagged a passing Igloo cooler and used it to move Roy to safety.

The flood didn’t drain away as quickly as it arrived, but it did drain away, and then there was damage all around. A second Cadillac rested in the yard. Steve’s Harley-Davidson, parked at his dad’s house, was buried under a crush of debris. The neighboring commercial farmland, with hundreds of tomato plants, lay flat. Inside was a mess. But the next day help arrived.

“We’ve had people from day one,” said Steve. “We’ve been so blessed – we’ve had more help than we could’ve imagined.”

Volunteers, friends and neighbors set about saving cabinets, cutting out walls and pulling up floors. They fed the family for days. Among them were members of Pinnacle Church in Canton and coordinators for Baptists on Mission Disaster Relief Ministry, a veteran disaster relief organization with experience helping hurricane victims and many others.

Mountain Projects and United Way of Haywood County have created a Rapid Re-Housing Challenge to gather funds, and Baptists on Mission are coordinating efforts to make flood-damaged homes safe, sanitary and livable through basic repairs. They do the work at cost, which is an average of $17,500 per house.

Roy’s family home, built in 1966, became one of the organization’s Haywood County projects, and volunteers from First Baptist Church of Four Oaks among other churches, began work.

Like many in Cruso, Steve and Roy say this flood was worse than the floods of 2004, when remnants of two hurricanes pummeled the watershed. They’re concerned that fallen trees – especially hemlocks dying from blight – are clogging waterways and increasing flood danger.

“None of that is being maintained,” Steve said. “They’ve fallen like matchsticks up through there, and when the water comes up they get caught against bridges and culverts. The water has to go somewhere.”

Their primary concern, though, is with their neighbors, many of whom were uninsured or couldn’t get flood insurance.

”Some won’t be able to rebuild,” Steve said. “A lot would’ve been better off if their house had burnt to the ground.”
_______

The Haywood County Rapid Re-Housing drive has raised money for more than 40 houses so far, with more in the pipeline. The original goal of 10 houses has been raised to 50 after a strong local response. The total number of houses in need isn’t yet known.

If you’d like to contribute to rapid-rehousing efforts in Haywood County, we urge you to make a donation to the United Way of Haywood County, 81 Elmwood Way, Suite 140 or PO Box 1139, Waynesville, NC 28786.

If you’d like to learn more about rapid rehousing, please call or email Mountain Projects Executive Director, Patsy Davis, at (828) 492-4124 or [email protected]. Mountain Projects is also accepting donations for a general flood recovery fund.

“We expect the recovery from this flood to take several years,” said Davis.

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Request for Bids: Site Development

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

Proposed Site Improvements for Harris Estates

Mountain Projects, Inc. – Owner (Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership)

Sylva, North Carolina

Sealed bids will be received by Mountain Projects, Inc. at their office located at the 2177 Asheville Road, Waynesville, NC 28786 for the construction of the Proposed Site Improvements for Harris Estates in Sylva, North Carolina until 2:00 pm EST on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. The bidder shall show evidence of qualifications by clearly displaying his or her current license number on the outside of the sealed envelope in which the proposal is delivered.

The project is located on a 1.2 acre ± tract of undeveloped land at the end of Second Avenue in Sylva, North Carolina. The project will include site improvements needed to prepare the site for five new single family homes which will be built by others. The project work will include excavation, earth filling, grading, storm drainage, erosion control, asphalt paving, approximately 840 LF of 2” HDPE water main and related incidental work.

Bid Documents may be obtained by qualified bidders from the issuing office of Lofquist & Associates, Inc., 11 Citrus Drive, Sylva, North Carolina 28779, (828) 586-1424. Qualified bidders may obtain digital copies of bid documents at no cost and/or printed copies of bid documents are available for a non-refundable cost of $150.00 per set from the issuing office.

Bid proposals shall be submitted by qualified contractors and must be accompanied by a bid security in an amount of 5 percent of the bidder’s maximum bid price.

The owner reserves the right to reject any or all bid proposals.

Mountain Projects, Inc.

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Canopy Realtor® Association and Canopy MLS to provide $400,000 to aid Haywood County Flood Relief Efforts

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Board of Directors of Canopy Realtor® Association and Canopy MLS, unanimously voted August 26 to donate $200,000 each, for a total of $400,000 in funds to support Haywood County flood relief efforts.

2021 Canopy Realtor® Association/Canopy MLS President David Kennedy said “We care deeply about the people and communities that we serve and now more than ever our neighbors who have lost their homes and so much more need our assistance.”

Kennedy adds that hearing from our local leadership and Realtor® members in the Western Region as to the amount of devastation this community has undergone is not only heart wrenching but a call to assist.

Seventy-five percent, amounting to $300,000 in funding, will be allocated to the United Way of Haywood County, and the remaining 25 percent, amounting to $100,000, will be donated to Mountain Projects, for a grand total of $400,000.

Brian Cagle, a Canopy MLS and Canopy Foundation Board of Directors member and Vice President/Managing Broker of Beverly-Hanks & Associates, said, “I am simply overcome and filled with gratitude for the overwhelming support from our industry.”

Canopy Realtor® Association is headquartered in Charlotte and is the professional trade association that provides Realtors® in Mecklenburg, Iredell and Haywood counties with resources and services to conduct ethical, professional and profitable businesses. Haywood Board of Realtors® became part of Canopy Realtor® Association on January 1, 2020, establishing the Western Region.

Canopy MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Canopy Realtor® Association and is the private broker cooperative used by Realtors® to bring buyers and sellers together with access to thousands of residential listings in a multi-county service area, including Charlotte, the mountains area of North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond.

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Haywood Public Transit Offers Emergency Cruso Shuttle Route Next Week

Haywood Transit Schedule in the Cruso & Bethel Area

Week of Tuesday, August 31st – Friday, September 3, 2021

Haywood Transit will provide a continuous shuttle service on US276 from 10am – 3pm daily. This service is open to anyone in need of transportation along this route.

Stops will include:

  •    Camp Hope

  •    Cruso Community Center

  •    Cruso United Methodist Church

  •    Burnett Cove Road

  •    Mustang Alley Drive Trailer Park

  •    Franks Grocery

  •    Bethel Baptist

  •    Crestview Baptist (as needed)

If community members need a ride into town for employment, shopping or medical trips please call 828-565-0362 to schedule an appointment. Haywood Transit needs at least 24 hours prior notice for these trips.

Haywood Transit is closed on Labor Day.

Ongoing shuttle transportation needs will be assessed on a week-by-week basis.

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Seeking Rapid Re-Housing Champions!

Haywood County’s Faith-based Communities, along with Mountain Projects, Recover Haywood and The United Way are working to restore housing for displaced households affected by Tropical Storm Fred.

Our mission is to bring existing homes to a basic level of safety, security and sanitation as quickly as possible–usually in about one week. This provides homeowners a safe space to rebuild their lives.

North Carolina Baptist Builders, who are often seen working in hurricane relief, will move their base to Haywood County to begin work September 1st, and will coordinate local volunteers and resources along with Mountain Projects.

Please help us meet our sponsorship goal of ten houses at $17,500 each. With your donations and in approximately one-weeks time per project, we can get families back into their homes!

CONTACT: Patsy Davis, Executive Director, Mountain Projects: 828-492-4124

 

More Information:

Join the Challenge and become a Re-housing Champion
Your investment of volunteers and contributions will get families back into their homes!

  • Homes will get new drywall, insulation, electrical services, working bathrooms and more
  • All materials and craftsmanship are high-quality 
  • Selected households will be rehabilitated in approximately one-weeks time
  • North Carolina Baptist Builders are grant funded & provide the majority of tools and skilled labor
  • HVAC & electrical replacements are often served by local contractors
  • Costs of materials and local contractors are provided by the sponsor

Rapid Re-housing Champions will be featured in the news, on the Mountain Projects website and social media.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How fast will construction start? The North Carolina Baptist Builders are moving their base to Haywood County and will begin work on September 1st
  2. Can our organization provide volunteers? YES! If your group wishes to join the process, we welcome collaborators 
  3. How do you choose which houses to rehabilitate? We generally choose houses of single mothers with children, the elderly and the disabled, first. Inspectors evaluate projects based on a list of criteria to determine our capacity to help.
  4. How do you prioritize projects? We prioritize the projects based on the circumstances of the household, the condition of the home and the availability of materials and expertise for a particular project. 
  5. What if our project costs more or less than $17,500? If there is excess after completing a home, your investment will be applied to a home that the cost exceeds the average rehabilitation costs. 
  6. Who profits from this work? The cost of labor and tools is volunteered. No one profits. 

Process

Community groups, Churches and Nonprofit organizations can sponsor a home rehabilitation.

Here are the steps:

  1. Notify Mountain Projects that your organization wants to join the challenge!
  2. Raise $17,500 to pay for the costs rehabilitation materials 
  3. Meet with project partners to organize volunteers
  4. We launch the re-housing project!

 

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