Angela Fry owns a mobile home in the Martin County community of Lovely. By Sunday evening, with waters from a Tug River tributary rising, what she saw was anything but lovely.
“It flooded before, so when it started raining, we didn't think nothing about it. And then Sunday, around that evening, sometime, water started coming up in through my vents, and it's never done that before. So we just decided to cut the power off, kick the breakers, and start taking what little bit we did, which is like a couple outfits and my dogs.”
Fry says neighbors hollered to see if they were home. She stuck her head out a window and saw waist-high water on her porch.
“And we said, ‘Yeah, we're here.’ And they got a boat and got us out because we called 911, and they told us to get on top of the roof if we could, that they don't know if they could have saved us or not, because they don't even know if they can get through.”
Fry, her adult daughter, who’s disabled, and their two small dogs were ferried to safety. She says they had to leave behind a rabbit and guinea pigs. That night, they stayed at a friend’s home, then were airlifted to Inez Elementary School. She says it was cold, there were no cots until 10 p.m., and there were barking dogs in the pets’ section.
Tuesday, they moved to Haven of Rest in Inez – a Christian ministry frequented by family members of inmates at the Big Sandy federal prison. They share a room with two beds. Fry says she hopes she can return to see if her home, which didn’t have flood insurance, can be saved. She’s devastated, but grateful for the good neighbors who may have saved their lives.
“They was wonderful. If it wasn't for them, I don't know what would happen.”
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