Families in the Bedford, N.S., area are still grappling with cleaning up their homes more than a week after devastating floods struck the province.
Sabah Al-Alam’s returned home after the flood to find his basement floor covered in mud and debris. It’s also cluttered with damaged and destroyed furniture, appliances and kids’ toys.
The air in his home is thick and a rancid smell lingers in the air caused by mold and mildew buildup.
Al-Alam says the house is uninhabitable.
“We have two kids. We have a two-and-a-half-year old and special needs 13-year old that we had to carry out of the water,” he said. “We have nowhere to go. We are staying with somebody that has a one-bedroom in Halifax.”
Al-Alam’s basement was covered by six-feet of water and expects all the drywall, ceiling, insulation, and electrical wires will need to be removed and replaced.
He said he contacted his insurance company, but it took several days before he received a response. However, even now, he is unsure of what is covered and what is not.
“There is no one word that can describe it. It’s frustrating, it’s worrying, it’s the uncertainty [of] what are we doing [and] where are we going.”
In his backyard, the swing set his daughters once used is covered in dust and is falling apart with tires and a thick plastic tarp surrounding it.
A motorcycle Al-Alam bought days before the historic rainfall was damaged by the flood, along with all three of his vehicles, including the one his family used to leave their home.
He said he and his family are also traumatized by that day.
He says he remembers running out of the house with his wife, carrying their daughters and running to their car, which was several inches below water.
Al-Alam said the car slipped several times while they tried to get out of their community on Union Street.
“My daughter is scared to go into the shower. She closes her eyes and ears. They ask about their toys and I think, I don’t know what to tell you kids.”
Al-Alam’s neighbour spent the week ripping out their own floorboards. Despite fanning and dehumidifying their basement, mold is already covering their walls.
“At the moment, we’re tearing everything ourselves because we haven’t had anyone help us yet,” said Valerie Delorey.
Delorey has been helping her father who owns the home.
Along with the cleanup, they have had to sort through damaged personal belongings and memories of growing up in the house.
Delorey said it has been difficult for her father who lost his wife just a few years ago to lose many of their photo albums. He was also just months away from paying off his mortgage.
She said it has been a very stressful experience.
“Trying to live normal lives on top of it, trying to work and being here to do this and support my dad.”
Similar to Al-Alam, Delorey said she is still unsure of what her insurance will cover.
“We have a 50,000 [dollar] deductible, but that’s not enough.”
While families try and salvage their homes, the floodwater has receded from the nearby baseball and football fields, which were underwater last week.
Bedford Football president John Strowbridge said much of their gear has been recovered and is being cleaned, but a lot is also unusable and covered in mold.
“We haven’t been able to get back on the field yet. It’s been closed ever since the flooding. There’s a lot of silt still sitting on the field and I don’t know if it’s been examined yet by the HRM staff or not,” he said.
The fence around the football field was covered in dirt and debris. During the flood, one of the sheds toppled over.
The fall football season is starting in August, however, there is uncertainty with insurance.
“I’m not sure what our deductible is going to be. We’re not sure the timing,” Strowbridge said. “I have all of our helmets in my shed at my home now. We had people take jerseys and launder them. We had people take shoulder pads and clean them, so all our gear is scattered when it never used to be.”
