The flooding of the Pineville neighborhood west of Lakeland has residents pondering whether to move out.
- Jessica Wilson's furniture, refrigerator thrown out due to flood damage
- Mother of five is also without power, vehicle damaged too
The floodwaters rose Monday after Irma passed over Lakeland. The water from the narrow Itchepackesassa Creek behind the duplexes overflowed into the neighborhood, rising to knee level in some places.
“We actually went through the window, because the water started coming from the back door, and if we opened the back door there was going to be a gush of water,” said Jessica Wilson, who escaped Monday around 6:20 a.m. as the flood waters began to rise.
The flooding left a foot of water in Wilson’s home. It dried out later in the week, but it left behind watermarks on the walls and the smell of mildew. By Saturday, most of her furniture was on the lawn, along with most of her neighbors’.
“We had to throw out furniture, mattress, our refrigerator stopped working,” said Wilson.
Before the storm, the single mother of five had just bought groceries. All of it had to be thrown away. She did not have renter’s insurance.
When the power went out, she said she also lost a week’s worth of income at McDonald’s where she is a manager.
“And my vehicle won’t start either,” lamented Wilson. “It’s rough. I’m just trying to stay strong for the kids.”
With her vehicle not working, she wonders how she will get to work daily and get her kids to school. She tried getting help from FEMA.
“They approved me for lodging but there’s actually no hotels in Lakeland that’s close by so the kids could be able to go to school,” Wilson said.
On Saturday, she was thankful Free Life Chapel and James Bennett stepped in to help by delivering food, clothes and water that was collected during a donation drive.
Wilson has to move out by Monday. She and her kids will live with her mom until she finds somewhere else to go.