Families Begin Cleanup After Massive Flooding in Northwest Atlanta’s Hanover West
ATLANTA – Over the weekend, families in the Hanover West community of Northwest Atlanta faced the daunting task of cleaning out their water-logged homes. The flooding on Friday, caused by Peachtree and Cross Creeks overrunning their banks, brought unexpected chaos and challenged the resilience of these tight-knit neighborhoods.
Saturday saw nearly every homeowner near Bohler Road engaged in some form of cleanup. The sight was nothing short of heartbreaking. Personal belongings, once cherished, were now heaped on driveways, destined for the trash heap.
Firsthand Accounts of the Aftermath
Residents are still trying to grasp the magnitude of the damage. Simone Alting, one of the affected homeowners, gave a tour of her heavily damaged property. “Watch out because it’s slippery,” she cautioned while navigating the mud-covered hallways of her home. “Everything is trashed inside the house,” Alting confessed. “It’s basically a tear-down.” She recounted her experience from Friday, describing how she watched the floodwaters rise to six feet from the safety of her upstairs room.
“The couches were floating and bumping into the walls,” Alting recalled. “Imagine the fridge was falling on the side and floating.” The water lines and dirt stains on the walls and curtains tell a grim story of the flood’s peak.
Neighbors Unite in Cleanup Efforts
Everywhere you looked, there were neighbors helping neighbors. Furniture and ruined belongings lined the curbs as homeowners began the laborious process of restoring their lives. Ryan Kurtz, another resident, shared his proactive approach. “We will start throwing stuff away. We will have an insurance adjuster out here early next week, contractors out, to start giving us estimates for rebuilding,” he said.
Kurtz didn’t lose as much as some others. After experiencing a flood back in 2009, he decided to raise his home and convert the lower level into a garage. “We did it for this very reason,” he noted. “So, we could get everything we cared about up to higher ground in our house.” Kurtz’s precautionary measures paid off, as he managed to save essential items during this recent flood.
Hard Decisions in the Face of Disaster
Like many others, Simone Alting had to make quick decisions as the water levels rose. “We tried to get everything up,” she explained. “Computers and everything that was important and small furniture I wanted to keep.” Unfortunately, the rapidly rising water forced her to abandon the effort when it became too dangerous.
The floodwaters from Peachtree Creek invaded her ground-floor storage area, ruining old furniture, Christmas decorations, and countless mementos. The cleanup process is not just physically demanding but also emotionally draining as families sift through what can be salvaged.
The Road to Recovery
As the community embarks on recovery, the solidarity among neighbors stands out as a beacon of hope. Insurance adjusters and contractors will soon swarm the area, offering estimates and initiating the rebuilding process. Though the task ahead is challenging, the resilient spirit of Hanover West is evident in every effort to restore normalcy.
The flood may have disrupted lives, but it also highlighted a profound sense of community. With each day, progress will undoubtedly be made, and Hanover West will emerge stronger from this adversity.
