Homes damaged by Hurricane Helene floodwater need costly repairs

ATLANTA — Many homes damaged by floodwaters from Peachtree Creek during Hurricane Helene will need floors and walls replaced, which in some cases, will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“I’m walking into houses that there was up to two feet of standing water on the main level and the basements were completely submerged. It’s a lot more damaging, devastating on the interior of homes than a lot of people realize,” Emergency Water Damage repair technician Jamie Rogers told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.

Many homes along Woodward Way in Buckhead sustained damage when Peachtree Creek overran its banks on September 27.

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Entire neighborhoods were submerged, and people had to be rescued by boat. Now, restoration crews are in those neighborhoods.

Water-damaged home furnishings are stacked in piles along streets waiting to be trucked away.

“All the porous material, with the exception of appliances that didn’t get their electronics submerged, it does have to go, unfortunately,” Rogers said.

One homeowner near the creek said his property was high enough to spare his main floor from getting flooded, but murky, polluted creek water filled his basement.

“It was about seven feet. And it took them eight days to clean it out with machines and heaters and everything. This is probably the most destructive thing that I have seen in this neighborhood since I have lived here, and I have lived here for 46 years,” Art Schneider said.

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While many are cleaning up from flood damage, others are trying to recover from damage caused by falling trees, including a homeowner in Doraville.

“The first thing I heard was a boom, a crash and I came out of bed. And I was lucky to get out of bed because suddenly there were rafters and stuff,” Doug Sims said.

Sims said a large tree fell from his neighbor’s house during Helene, punching several holes in his roof. His wife was nearly injured while watching TV in their living room.

The Marine veteran, who has COPD and other medical issues, says paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment.

“The biggest thing was I ingested a bunch of insulation. I was spitting up and vomiting,” Sims said.

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Sims’ son crawled through debris to locate their dog Belle, who was missing for over an hour after the tree struck their home.

He said they don’t have insurance to rebuild and because DeKalb County is not a county in the disaster declaration for Georgia, he isn’t eligible for federal relief funds.

Sims said he may have no other choice but to tear down the house.

“I guess I’m going to try to sell the lot, as a lot. We are lucky we have our dog,” Sims said.

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