FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — Flood waters entered the homes of dozens of people in the Salem Village neighborhood in Fayetteville. Now clean-up has begun. Bruce McVay said almost 10 inches of water got in his home.
“It rained harder and harder until our whole house was coming apart,” McVay said. “Our three cars got full of water. Our whole house had over a foot of water. It was coming up the stairs.”
McVay said he feared for his life Saturday night (April 29). Flood water rushed up to his porch, then through his front door. Then it traveled through every room on the main level. He and his wife went to the second story of their home on Westminster Drive to stay safe.
“We started praying and calling people saying ‘help’ out the windows,” McVay said.
With some help from family and neighbors they’ve cleaned up the water. McVay estimates tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage, but he says salvaging sentimental items is more important than material things.
“How can you put an estimate on your family photos and all that kind of stuff,” McVay said.
Just outside his neighborhood, emergency crews responded to five swift-water rescues on Salem Road.
“People they get in a hurry and they just believe it’s not that deep, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of water to stall out a car,” said Asst. Fire Chief Thomas Good.
The water on the bridge on Rupple Road near Mt. Comfort was as high as the guard rails on Saturday. The Fayetteville Street Department assessed the bridge and said there is no structural damage, but they will have to repave the roadway. Meanwhile, the creek below it has since receded back to normal.
“I went down pretty quickly,” Asst. Chief Good said. “It was just overwhelming for a little while.”
The fire department received about 70 calls for help on Saturday and more than two dozen were swift-water rescue calls.