By Hugh Fisher
hfisher@salisburypost.com
CONCORD ó Officials will keep a local disaster assistance center open for one more week to continue serving area residents who suffered losses in last month’s floods.
The center is located in the basement of the former Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office at the corner of Church Street and Corban Avenue, Concord.
It will be open today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekdays next week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the state of North Carolina and various relief organizations have been in Concord for the past week.
The flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay damaged about 95 homes and businesses in Cabarrus County, according to Dave Hunter, Emergency Management Planner for Cabarrus County.
Hunter said many have already taken advantage of local, state and federal assistance.
“The Small Business Administration said they have had about 90 visits, and the state had approximately 46,” Hunter said.
Even so, Hunter said it was impossible to say that everyone who suffered damage had made a claim.
The local assistance has been helpful for flood victims struggling to provide for their families.
Ella Thompson seemed confident that her home could be fixed. Her house in Concord suffered damage from floodwaters as well as mold and mildew.
Thompson was hoping to get aid from the state after being turned down for a federal loan.
“I knew I wouldn’t get accepted for a loan,” Ella Thompson said. “That’s why I needed to come here in the first place, to get assistance.”
Representatives from the American Red Cross have provided assistance with short-term rentals for those whose homes weren’t livable after the storm.
And representatives from the North Carolina Baptist Men and N.C. United Methodist Men have provided manpower for cleanup and rebuilding efforts.
Although many homes can likely be repaired, there are also a number which may have to be replaced.
One Kannapolis man who identified himself as a resident of Kansas Street said his entire first floor was flooded, destroying the heating and air conditioning system as well as property.
Similarly, Anna Hood of Concord said her son awoke in his downstairs room to find water pouring into the house.
“They say that all the concrete (in the basement) is porous and that it soaked up water, so we have to take up all the linoleum tiles and treat it,” Hood said. “The drywall and wall boards have to be replaced.”By the time she visited the center last Saturday, she already had bills for pumping out water and estimates for repairs totaling in the thousands of dollars.
Angelita Miller and her sister, Consuelo Souders, were there to assist their father, Joseangel Montalvo, of Harrisburg.
His home next to Rocky River Creek was filled with two feet of water.
“He’d tried to get flood insurance, but he was denied,” Miller said as she waited with her father.
“We had about 95 structures that we know were damaged,” Hunter said.
Further information, including aid details for those who cannot visit the center in person or who have questions about the process, is available on the Web at www.cabarruscounty.us.