DILLE, WV (WOWK) — The remnants of Hurricane Laura did not bring flooding rains to most of West Virginia, but in parts of Clay County, some residents are still dealing with flooding every time there’s heavy rainfall like earlier this week.
They say it’s been ongoing since the 2016 flood.
Dille resident Krysta Dodrill has had to walk across two iron beams to get to and from her house every day ever since the 2016 flood washed her bridge away.
Just two days ago her driveway was overflowing.
She worries the next heavy rain will wash the beams away and threaten her family’s safety.
“We can’t get an ambulance, we can’t get a fire truck, if we were to lose power, we’re screwed,” she said.
Her husband Scott Dodrill says their neighbor who lives out of state in New Mexico is contributing to the problem with a clogged culvert he installed that doesn’t allow the creek water to flow through.
Instead, it spills onto the road, sometimes leaving water two to three inches from their porch.
“It’s terrible because you’re helpless, you have no idea what to do, I mean you’re virtually helpless,” said Dodrill.
“You’re trying to figure out how to get to higher ground except going straight up the mountain behind the house,” he said.
Just down the street, Dille resident James Sattler says he now has a sandbar for a driveway after the culvert installed by the state in 2016 near his house is now clogged and also caused flooding.
“All of these streams need to be cleaned — dredged they call it. I mean these streams used to be six feet deeper than they are now, they’re just so full of rock and debris,” said Sattler.
The residents say their pleas to FEMA and the state for help have fallen on deaf ears.
According to the Dodrill family, a new bridge will cost them anywhere from $16,000 out-of-pocket.
They say they were rejected by FEMA and the West Virginia VOAD on the grounds that it wasn’t their primary residence when the flood happened.
“It took two years to fight with these programs to install a bridge and I mean you just get nowhere with them,” she said.
13 News contacted the out-of-state neighbor who lives in New Mexico.
He says he is currently awaiting back surgery and is immobile.
He also says FEMA had promised him a bridge in the 2016 flood.
He says he is now working with the Clay County Division of Highways to get the culvert ripped out.
Calls at to the Clay County DOH were unsuccessful Saturday.