The flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby struck at the center of Liberty borough on Friday.
One resident, who declined to provide a name, described the flooding that she viewed from her home on Williamson Trail.
“I could see the water coming down the hill like a river. I’ve lived here 60 years and I never saw anything like that. I saw the water flow down sides of the road. We’ve had our troubles, but never down the middle of the road, but it did, just lickety-split. It didn’t even happen with Agnes, it just went so fast and I could see the rocks and debris just rushing down in the water,” she said.
The flood took Joel and Tirsa Dobson, owners of Dobson’s Garage and Willow Street Cafe, by surprise.
“We came into work about 8:30 and at that time there was about 12 inches of water. The garage door was blasted open, so we opened the back door to let the water flow through the garage, to try to stop it from flooding the garage. It just happened so fast and the current was so strong. I didn’t realize how strong the current was and I almost fell, if it weren’t for the parked cars to hold onto, I would have went down. It has put a perfect fear of floods in me,” said Tirsa.
“That was the first wave,” said Joel. “The debris and rocks that were washed down the hill in the water clogged the storm drains and Mark Phelps from the fire department came with his backhoe to try to clear the storm drains, but by that point there was too much water there was nowhere for it to go. That is when they evacuated us.”
“After we got the water flowing to the creek, we thought it was over. We thought we were OK and then there was a second wave after that and it happened so fast,” said Tirsa.
The flood wreaked havoc on the businesses, leaving a waterline of about three feet.
“Luckily the water did not reach the cafe and we still have it open with a limited menu, but it was just under the door to the cafe which sits up higher than the garage. It did hit the storeroom where the freezers were. When we came back, it looked as if someone had picked the freezers up and just smashed them together. So we lost the freezers and equipment for the catering business. It destroyed the hot water heater, the furnace, so many things just gone, carried away by the water,” said Tirsa.
Across the street, the Alexanders’ family home was hit hard by the flood waters. The current forced its way through the basem*nt, drilling holes through the rock walls and filling the basem*nt with chest-high water before breaking down the back door and flowing into the Liberty Community Park baseball fields.
Their home beside Willow Street and the street were destroyed by flooding, washing chunks of the asphalt downstream.
“People think that the only thing that happened in Liberty was that our basem*nts flooded, but it rocked the foundation of our home. There was a 10-foot hole that was eroded beside our house. The inspector is supposed to come to look at it, but I have no idea what we are going to do. Our deductible is $5,000. It is mentally and emotionally draining” said Karen Alexander. “It could have been much worse, we are lucky that we didn’t lose anyone. God was really watching out for us there. We are also lucky to have friends and family to help us.”
Both the Dobsons and the Alexanders noted the importance of friends and family in trying to recover from the damage the flood caused.
“I am so thankful for my family. Everyone has been working for days. My sons Cameron, Kevin II, Caiden and Kolton have been working non-stop. My son Kevin, who lives up the street, came down and moved the cars, and when were evacuated, he helped my mother-in-law Sharon to get out safely,” said Karen.
“So many people have helped, we didn’t ask, they just showed up offering help. I told them they were going to get dirty and they didn’t bat an eye; they just started shoveling and sweeping. The chief of the fire department, Brian Ferris, has been amazing as well, trying to help us as much as he can. I lost all the food in the freezers and all the local businesses that supply the cafe made sure that I could stay open by delivering here. We are Liberty strong,” said Tirsa.
