Firefighters Darrell Thompson, left, and Brian Dozier, right, pull Steve Lovell and his dog Lulu to dry land from their Farris Street home.TODD BENNETT/STAFF

Heavy rains inundate homes

Web posted September 4, 1998

By Kevin Bonsor
Staff Writer

Assisting Richmond County firefighters, Mel Hall carried a baby girl out of a Hopie Road residence where rising waters trapped a paraplegic woman and her three daughters.

``The waters were moving so high, so me and the one man, a firefighter, picked 'em up and brought them out of the water,'' Mr. Hall said.

About an hour later, Mr. Hall, standing about a 100 yards from the home where he had saved the little girl and her family, worried that his own home may soon be in danger.

``With all of this rain, I don't know how far it's going to come,'' he said. ``I'm just going to wait and see.''

Thursday's rains forced emergency officials to evacuate several families on Hopie and Rozella roads in the Hollywood subdivision. Many had to be rescued by boat.

The house belonging to Sung Seo on Crystal Court is surrounded by water as Reed Creek overflows its banks.JIM BLAYLOCK/STAFF

``The boats have stayed very busy today, probably the busiest they've been since (the 1990 floods),'' said Pam Tucker, director of the Richmond County Emergency Management Agency.

Boats had to be used to transport several Houghton Elementary School pupils to their residences at Underwood Homes on Fairhope Street. Their buses had been stopped by rushing floodwaters across the road.

Many families turned to the Holiday Inn on Gordon Highway for shelter, where the Red Cross had arranged with the hotel to house residents displaced by the floods.

The hotel donated 15 free rooms and gave the Red Cross another 10 at a discounted price.

Calvin and Sabrina Evans, along with their five children, were one of the first families to arrive, seeking a room before they were all gone.

``We were flooded out,'' said Mr. Evans of his home on Durand Trailer Court. ``It's bad out there.''

He said floodwaters hadn't seeped into his manufactured home when he left about 6 p.m. but were threatening to do so. As he stepped out of his front door, the waters came up to his knees and were rising.

Approximately 20 people were waiting in the hotel lobby at 6:30 p.m. Claude Wohlford of the Red Cross said they would send any overflow to the shelter at the Warren Road Community Center.

Ms. Tucker said at about 8 p.m. that she didn't think the Warren Road shelter would have to be used.

``I think, right now, that most people are where they are going to be for the night.''