After the water recedes

Lisa Evans and Anna Bryant never have met, but they have a lot in common.

In September as 10 inches of rain fell on the Chattanooga area in only a few days, both women were forced from their homes as muddy floodwaters ruined most of their belongings.

"There have been a lot of tears," Ms. Evans said last week as workers sawed molding and hauled new kitchen countertops into her East Ridge home. "But things are getting better."

Last Saturday, Ms. Bryant moved back into her Chickamauga, Ga., home. She had not spent one night there since the September flooding. Contractors worked for a month ripping out soaked floors and damaged drywall.

"The house is better than before in a lot of ways," Ms. Bryant said.

But the stories are not as positive across the region. Officials estimate more than 400 homes were evacuated after the floods. Most residents have returned, but some have not.

"It's a real individual thing," said David Ashburn, director of emergency management in Walker County. "Some people have decided not to go back at all."

About 300 people in Walker County filed claims for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, records show. Of those, Mr. Ashburn estimated that 25 to 30 residents have not moved back into their dwellings.

"Some homes were classified as destroyed, so they obviously won't be going back," he said. "But it may take a few weeks to a few months for the rest of the homeowners to get back into their homes."

On Ms. Evans' street, Pleasant Street, at least two homes sit vacant, windows fogged by evaporating water, the odor of mildew wafting as far as the driveway. East Ridge officials, however, say no home was so badly damaged that it will be condemned.

"It seems like mostly everyone is either doing some work on their homes or are already back in," said East Ridge codes enforcement officer Terrie Robertson. "We think there are just a very small number that aren't being repaired."

East Ridge had 149 homes with some damage from the floods, officials said. Also, 19 businesses and 374 apartment units were damaged, including four extended-stay hotels that flooded.

Code enforcers have given the hotels the green light to allow guests to return, Ms. Robertson said.

East Ridge residents are familiar with floods. The city had similar widespread flooding in 2003 and in 1997.

"Most of the residents have been through this before," Ms. Robertson said. "The vast majority just got right in there and went to work, because they knew what needed to be done."

Georgia, which had flooding from Atlanta to the Tennessee border, qualified for a federal disaster declaration, which allows businesses with flood damage to apply for compensation or low-interest loans for repairs. Residents who did not have flood insurance received funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"I didn't think it would be as fast as it was," Ms. Bryant said. "I don't know what I would have done without the FEMA money."

Her repairs cost about $14,000. That's money she did not have, and FEMA paid for all of it, she said.

Tennessee's flooding was not as widespread, and the damage failed to qualify for a federal disaster declaration. Fortunately for Ms. Evans, her mother had federal flood insurance, and the $54,000 price tag to repair her home is going to be absorbed by that policy, she said.

SEPTEMBER FLOODING

* 500 people sought shelter

* 260 East Ridge homes were evacuated

* 7,000 meals were served at shelters

* 10 inches of rain fell in less than a week

Source: Newspaper archives