Beth Griffith’s family has lived in the two-story house at 1003 S. Washington St. for 65 years. She has done her fair share of home renovations over the years, but maybe none as intensive as when her house flooded in 2007.
“At that time, water came four feet into the house and damaged a lot of stuff,” she said Monday. “The walls, floors and insulation just soaked the water up. We had a lot of repairs to make.”
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case from last weekend’s flooding.
Although the waters rose high enough to lap at the base of her house, they never entered.
“For me, this flood wasn’t as bad,” she said. “I did get some flooding in the garage and shed, but not any serious damage.”
Griffith noted her biggest concerns this time were the safety of Rose and Blaze, two of her dogs that were in her garage, where the flood waters had made it inside.
“They were a little upset,” she added. “I had a friend offer to keep them in her backyard for me. They’re ready to come home and I’m ready for them to come home.”
Griffith picked the two up Monday evening for a happy reunion.
Alerting Griffith to the flood waters was her grandson’s dog, Bow.
“He barked and woke me up because there was something going on outside,” she recalled. “I looked out and I saw the water. He was my hero.” Bow, an indoor dog, stayed with her and her grandson Zane at the house over the weekend.
The most astonishing aspect of the flood, according to Griffith, was how strong the waters were. She stated that the floodwaters had carried her solid wood jungle gym clear across her backyard.
“It’s just amazing how fast the water was moving,” she said.
She pointed out a concrete goose statue that sits just inside her shed.
“That had floated all the way to the back of the shed,” she added. “It’s heavy… the waters were strong.”
Griffith is now focused on cleaning up her garage, shed and backyard while looking at the brighter side of the ordeal.
