THIRD ST. RESIDENTS EYE WATER; THEY'LL EVACUATE IF FORECAST IS CORRECT

Mike Brown loaded his washer and dryer into a pickup truck and packed a few belongings. Now, he, like his neighbors, awaits the flood waters.

It's just a matter of time before the rising Mississippi River laps at their doorsteps, then enters their homes.

When the river reaches 42 feet, water is inside all of the houses in the 300 block of Third Street. The Mississippi is expected to crest at 43 feet on Friday.

Those who own their homes know the routine. But Brown, who rents at 303 Third Street, said he won't be moving back.

"This is it," he said. "It's too nerve wracking. I can't sleep at night not knowing if I'm going to wake up floating around inside the house."

Monday morning Jan Bierschwal sat on the couch in her living room at 301 Third and asked how high the water is. It covered Water Street, less than a block from her home. Sunday the water had not reached the road yet.

"I didn't even want to look," she said. "Things have been so bad around here financially and now the water."

Charles and Jan Bierschwal have owned the house for about 20 years. When she bought the house, the area hadn't flooded for over 100 years. That year it flooded.

Recently, the family had been living in Burfordville.

"We just moved back in December. We didn't really want to because of the water," she said.

But her husband became disabled and lost his job. Then she was laid off from her job. So they moved back to Third Street.

"We had just done some remodeling. We put in new sheetrock," Bierschwal said.

Bierschwal said the family will pack up all their belongings and move out later this week.

"We tried putting things up high, but people come in and steal it if you leave it," she said.

Besides, flood waters are destructive. "If things get wet, they mildew and there is almost no way to get the mud out. I've taken a hose to carpets trying to get them clean."

The family has a boat in the front yard, but Bierschwal said it's not in preparation of the coming flood. The boat sits there all the time. But when the water rises, they will use it.

"We've boated in and out lots of times," she said.

Bierschwal said she can't sell the house; no one wants to buy it because it flood. She can't afford to buy another house without the money from the one they're in, she said.

So, with quiet resolve, she plans how to roll up the white living room carpet and how best to move the refrigerator.

Across the street Grover and Zona Hahs too watch the approaching water.

"We've always cleaned it up before," said Zona Hahs. Today she plans to contact her insurance agent and determine what the policy covers.

"I have to see if they will pay to move us," she said.

While most of her neighbors say they can't afford flood insurance, Zona Hahs thinks its worth the cost.

"Last time we stayed in a motel," said Grover Hahs. "We'll just pack up everything in boxes and find a place to store it."

Floors in the Hahs' home are covered with linoleum. "I wouldn't have a rug," she said. "With the floods you get so much mud in the house."

Like the Bierschwals, the Hahs cannot find a buyer for their house because it floods, and they cannot afford to move without selling it.

"Many people around here rent," she said. "They probably won't stay."

But the Hahs will be back.