They didn’t expect they’d have to salvage pieces of their lives

Three days after torrential rains flooded portions of southern Sedgwick County, Nadine and Gilbert Sanchez stood outside their Mulvane home surveying the damage.

The contents of their basement were emptied onto the floor of their open two-car garage and driveway. More was heaped on a huge trailer the Sanchezes borrowed from a friend, waiting to be hauled to the dump.

To its side, a meager pile of VHS tapes, two bins of photos and Christmas decorations sat – the only property salvaged from the home’s lower level.

Gilbert Sanchez pointed to a trunk filled with binders of autographed, first-run comic books and sighed.

“It’s all destroyed,” he said, flipping through the pages of the once-pristine, plastic-encased editions, now soggy from the floodwater and sewage that poured into their home in the 900 block of North First Street on Friday evening.

“It’s probably the most valuable thing I’ve collected,” he said. “Now it’s papier mache.”

Also lost: dozens of letters the couple exchanged while Gilbert Sanchez was away on military duty in Germany.

“That’s how we communicated. I’d wanted to pass that all down to my children. But now that’s all gone,” Nadine Sanchez said, defeat in her voice.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.”

Residents of Mulvane on Monday continued cleaning up after fast-falling rain left much of the city underwater Friday evening.

Kent Hixson, Mulvane’s city administrator, said 44 homes and five businesses inside the city limits saw some sort of flooding damage, with the worst of it concentrated in southern portions of the city around Styx Creek. Mulvane, a city of 6,100 people, is south of Derby on the Sedgwick County-Sumner County line.

Between 6 and 7 inches of rain fell in about two hours, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita.

On Monday, damage estimates in Mulvane had already reached about $1 million, Hixson said. And the figure could rise as homeowners, insurance companies and inspectors get a closer look at the losses.

Many residents spent the weekend hauling possessions – many sentimental and irreplaceable – out of their homes and tearing out carpet and drywall. Much of it sat in haphazard heaps in people’s yards, smelling of mold. Many residents have been displaced.

Some said Monday they worried about whether homeowners insurance will pick up the costs, because flooding isn’t covered by their policies.

“A lot of us lost everything. It’s like my basement is no longer in existence,” said Lancie Price, who also lives in the 900 block of North First with her husband and two daughters.

The sewage and rainwater that filled her basement to the ceiling destroyed not only the drywall and carpet but also her children’s toys, work clothing, furniture, hunting and camping gear, video game consoles and other electronics, she said.

“It’s going to take $60,000 to $70,000 on the cheap end to repair, not including contents,” she said, adding she felt scared and nervous not knowing whether she will be responsible for the full repair bill.

“We’re probably going to do most of it ourselves to try to save,” she said.

Hixson said Monday the city saw “so much water in such a short period of time that it just overwhelmed our drainage systems” and sewer system.

He said everything is “back in shape” now, the city’s infrastructure is in good condition, and the tap water is safe.

The city started assessing the damage on Saturday. One inspector from Sumner County and two from Sedgwick County also are helping out, Hixson said.

“How fast it (the rain) came down is what hurt us,” he said.

The city had told residents it would bring in trash Dumpsters and extra bins to help residents dispose of flood-damaged property and construction debris.

But Hixson said that plan was abandoned Monday in favor of having residents haul their own waste to Wellington’s dump or wait for curbside pickup.

Residents wanting to haul their own garbage can do so for free over the next 10 days with a city-stamped Red Cross Client Assistance form. Forms are available by calling the Red Cross. They can be stamped from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at Mulvane City Hall, 211 N. Second.

Those opting for curbside pickup should separate waste into three piles: construction debris and trash, household hazardous waste and white goods, like metals and appliances emptied of freon.

Curbside pickup will probably take a few weeks to complete. Only those with homes damaged by the floods are eligible, Hixson said.

Anyone still needing help should contact the American Red Cross at 844-334-7569.

On Friday evening, when Mike Byers finally reached his mother’s home in the 900 block of North First Street, he saw at least 13 inches of rainwater and sewage in her basement.

The amount didn’t surprise him, though. A debris-clogged railway drainage ditch behind the house that overflows during heavy rains and poor street drainage out front have caused flooding before, he said.

This time, raw sewage spewed up from a toilet “like a fountain,” he said, and floodwater broke two exterior windows before pouring into the basement. Drywall, carpet, the ceiling, lights, appliances, the water heater, the furnace and the air conditioner “were all destroyed,” Byers said.

He expects repair costs to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

“Normally, the street turns into a river through here, and a lot of people in town don’t notice that it’s always flooded back here,” Byers said, gesturing to the railway.

“This is really an existing problem that’s never been taken care of. And we just continually have to deal with it.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 7:26 PM with the headline "They didn’t expect they’d have to salvage pieces of their lives."