Corbin family hit hard by high water

Heavy rain turned into a late-night shock for at least one Corbin family who are busy cleaning up from the damage high water caused to their Fifth Street home early Monday morning.

Ben Stewart worked frantically Monday afternoon to pump more than 14 inches of brown, smelly water out of his basement and estimates damage from floodwaters will cost him anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 in repairs.

"I’m not insured for flood, so I guess I will have to bite the bullet," Stewart said. "My insurance man said this wasn’t really a flood zone and that I couldn’t get insurance through him, that I would have to go through the state."

Stewart has lived at 715 W. Fifth Street for two years with his wife Crystal and their two daughters Sarah and Rebecca. He said he was told floodwaters had damaged the house in previous years, but that Monday’s late-night wake up was a shock.

"I was asleep about 12:30 a.m. and my wife said you need to come look at the water in the street. She said this car had just gone by and the water was up to its headlights," he said. "When we came down to the basement, I could see that the pump was working but there was just too much water coming it too fast. It couldn’t keep up."

Stewart said the pump likely failed at some point. The family began feverishly trying to save possessions they had in the partially finished basement: children’s’ toys, a big-screen television, a washer and dryer, etc.

"My kids were panicking," he said. "We told them to take their stuff upstairs and they were taking it all the way to the second floor. They thought they were going to die."

Stewart said he cut power to the basement when the water got close to electrical outlets to prevent them from shorting out. He said he and his wife tried to warn neighbors about the situation so that none of them were caught unawares.

"The water was completely covering the ground. It was like a river running between our houses," he said.

The family spent Monday pressure washing sludge out of carpets and other possession to remove a slimy film left by the water. Stewart, a heating and air conditioning expert by trade, said he hopes his furnace was not damage by the water. If it was, it could greatly increase the repair bill.

Neighbors Virginia and Oscar Middleton said they feel for the family. Their own home suffered no damage from the high water. They said they only have a crawlspace under the living area of their home.

"We’ve lived here about six months, but I know what it is like. We went through a lot of floods when we lived in Harlan," said

Virginia Middleton, recounting the 1977 flood, considered one of the worst on record. "I really feel for them. When the water comes it comes so fast and it is cold and there’s just nothing you can do about it. You just have to sit back and watch it go and clean it up later."

The Middleton’s said they planned to help their neighbor’s recover from the flooding.