Soddy-Daisy residents continue recovery
Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, is continuing to rebuild after heavy rain caused flooding in the area Sept. 26 that led to the death of an elderly woman and affected about 40 of the city’s roughly 5,500-6,000 homes. The affected residences are in the former Soddy community on the north end of the city, City Manager Janice Cagle said.
The estimated cost of major damages to commercial and residential properties is $400,000, and the cost of minor damages to affected homes is $1.3 million, Cagle said.
Still, none of the properties were a complete loss.
For the city and its residents to receive assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, at least 25-30 residences or businesses must be considered a complete loss or uninhabitable, Cagle explained.
The estimated cost to repair city infrastructure is $200,000.
Cagle said the city spent $6,000$8,000 on repairs to the flooded senior center on Depot Street, including replacing the flooring and some of the wallboard and repainting. Five city roads — Depot, Durham, Ducktown, Valley and Wilson streets — had major damage, mainly edges that were washed away, that will require repairs, she said.
Most of the damage citizens are facing involves HVAC units that were beside their homes, ductwork underneath their homes or other items stored under their homes, Cagle said.
The city organized a cleanup the first weekend in October, when commissioners arranged for several contractors to fix citizens’ yards damaged by the flooding, Cagle said. Soddy-Daisy High School students also volunteered Oct. 12 to clean up debris at the Soddy Daisy Kids Club playground and ballfields, where floodwater had collected.
The Northside Neighborhood House also is addressing needs of affected community members by connecting them with resources and providing ongoing support.
The week after the flooding, the nonprofit agency brought food, diapers and other supplies to its site in Soddy-Daisy, offering the items to clients that typically rely on the Soddy Daisy Food Bank, which because of the flooding was unable to serve clients on its typical distribution day. Northside also partnered with United Way of Greater Chattanooga and other agencies to host a service fair for flood victims, in which households received assistance such as water cleanup support, gas cards, legal advice and thrift vouchers from the 11 participating agencies.
Northside Neighborhood House is working directly with six clients affected by the flooding, who are in some cases bringing quotes for repairs totaling several thousand dollars, said CEO Rachel Gammon. In addition to HVAC and duct work repairs, she said the main unmet needs they’re seeing include driveway repairs, and cosmetic repairs such as fences and walking rails that were washed over.
Most people affected had some form of insurance, but still have unmet needs that are not covered or have reached the limits of their coverage rebuilding their homes, she said.
“A lot of people are waiting to hear back from insurance and how much they’ll pay,” Gammon added. “We’re planning to fill in the gaps.”
Since the flooding wasn’t something the organization had budgeted for, it needs financial support to help meet the ongoing needs. Gammon said their goal is to raise at least $80,000.
“This is our first time doing something like this to this extent,” she said of providing natural disaster assistance.
The organization has been providing “a hand up” to people in need living north of the river for 94 years through education and assistance. Its main office is located in North Chattanooga. Northside Neighborhood House started providing direct assistance to clients in the Soddy-Daisy area through a local church in 2012, and opened a satellite location in the city in 2016.
Community members can support those affected by the flooding by visiting nnhouse. org/donate or sending a donation to Northside Neighborhood House, P.O. Box 4086, Chattanooga, TN 37405, and noting that the donation is for Soddy-Daisy flood victims.