Morehouse begins big job of flood cleanup

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- The floodwaters that once filled the town of Morehouse are gone now, but the community's cleanup efforts are just beginning.

Homes show obvious scars from the flood. A brown ring circles the bottom half of most homes, showing where the water once was. Street after street is lined with piles of waterlogged couches, beds, clothes and carpeting ripped from homes ravaged by the flood. The stench of mold fills the air.

About 100 Morehouse residents looking for help as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives gathered at the town's elementary school gym Wednesday night. Mayor Pete Leija, Don Devoe, community relations director with FEMA, and Tim Russell, pastor of Lighthouse Christian Center in Dexter, Mo., shared information about aid at the meeting.

Tuesday, New Madrid County received a federal disaster declaration -- a necessary step for Morehouse residents to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance.

Devoe made it clear that FEMA would provide funds for temporary rental housing and funding to help homeowners rebuild.

"FEMA is not a dollar-for-dollar replacement. It's not like insurance," Devoe said. "It's designed to give you a hand up and get you back in your home."

Russell, also director of Hope International Ministries, spoke about help his organization is offering to the community.

"We're here to give hope. To give a helping hand," Russell said. "I don't know what FEMA is going to do. What we're here to do is try to fill in the gaps."

Volunteers with Hope International, based at Lighthouse Christian Center, are conducting damage assessments throughout the town and compiling a list of those who need help. The organization is bringing in several thousand gallons of fungicide to fight mold in flooded properties once they are cleaned out.

Russell is working with the city to recruit volunteer groups for a community cleanup blitz Saturday. Volunteers are meeting daily at 8 a.m. at the First General Baptist Church in Morehouse. To volunteer, people may call 573-624-2500.

There is no fee for assistance from Hope International, but residents must sign a waiver granting the organization permission to enter their home, Russell said.

A total of 280 homes, about two-thirds of the town's residences, sustained water damage, Leija said. His house is among them. He's got a three-page list of flooded families needing help and a color-coded map of the town indicating various levels of property damage.

Devoe told residents they must call or go online to file for FEMA assistance. People may call 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.disasterassistance.gov. Once initial contact is made, FEMA inspectors will call people back to set up a time to come inspect their property.

Melissa Massey's home was inspected Wednesday morning by FEMA.

The inspector "took her time and was very thorough," said Massey, whose home had five inches of water in it for five days. She'd lived there for 11 years and had only one day to pack before the floodwaters forced her to move.

"Everything was ruined. Even if it didn't get wet, it got mold on it. Mold is growing up the walls right now," she said.

According to Devoe, seven to 10 days after a FEMA inspection in conducted, residents will get an information packet in the mail with details about the assistance they qualify for and a check.

He told residents to keep their receipts for hotels stays and cleaning supplies because they may be reimbursable.

The town is still under a boil-water order. Residents also won't receive water bills this month, Leija said. City hall was "decimated" by the flood, he said, and it's moved locations twice already. Also sustaining water damage were the town's fire and police stations.

About 20 people are still living in a shelter at the First Baptist Church in Morehouse. Volunteers with the American Red Cross and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief are serving 260 meals a day both at the shelter and by using a mobile feeding truck to take meals to those cleaning up their homes.

Many residents of a senior and low-income housing complex who had been staying at the shelter were able to return to their homes today, but 12 of the complex's 27 units are uninhabitable due to flood damage, said Joe Ross, a maintenance worker at the complex.

"I caution you not to move into your house too soon," Leija said. "If you have mold growing, it will make you sick."

The city asks residents to pile destroyed building materials, furniture and other flood debris along the street for the city to pick up.

The city has obtained a burning permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and will burn the materials this weekend, Leija said.

Many in Morehouse blame the Missouri Department of Transportation for the flooding because the department constructed an emergency berm April 28 on the westbound lanes of U.S. 60 to keep water off the road.

Rumors circulated among residents that MoDOT would compensate them for their losses, but according to MoDOT district engineer Mark Shelton, that is not the case. He urged residents to apply for existing state and federal relief programs.

Tuesday, MoDOT crews cleared U.S. 60 and reopened all four lanes to traffic, he said. They also repaired a cut in Route E made to redirect floodwaters.

MoDOT's efforts were necessary to keep U.S. 60 open as a route for emergency services going into Poplar Bluff to the west and Mississippi County to the east, Shelton said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent Address:

Morehouse, MO