Flooding Victims Worry with Flash Flood Threat
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — After five straight days of rain and frequent flash flood watches and warnings, many West Tennesseans worry they could fall victim to flooding again. Brandon Fouse lives on McGee Loop where, in 2010, historic flood waters swallowed his neighborhood. Several families were forced from their homes, while others had to repair thousands of dollars in damage. “In the back of my mind I’m always thinking, ‘what if that happens again’,” Fouse said, “I came out, and there was water up to our porch and it covered our cars and then four, five hours later it was gone.” Fouse says he lost a car and his house sustained $9,000 in damages. He says on nights when rain is pouring down and a flood warning is issued, he cannot help but fear the worst. “[I fear] That it would catch me by surprise, that I couldn’t get my family, friends, neighbors out, and that’s the worst part,” he said. Since the flood, he says he and his neighbors are closer. They have put their heads together on how to prevent it from happening again. Some homeowners have put culverts in their yards to drain water and they’ve even comes up with a system to communicate with each other. “If there’s a problem or they do see flooding, we get a text and then we’ll go from there. But that’s all you really can do,” Fouse said. Fouse said he definitely sees a difference in how water collects on his street now that he has installed a culvert but said he does not think it would prevent flooding if the rain continues to fall. Several people on the street said they use the Red Cross Flood App, which gives users tips and tools to use if they get stuck in a flood. It’s available in the app store for iPhone or on Google Play for Android.
