Flood Victims Still Waiting for Financial Help

Rockford, Illinois - Its been more than two months since the flood waters washed through Winnebago County leaving hundreds of people homeless. To date, more than 200 homes have not been repaired. On the 900 block of 13th street in Rockford, four homes are empty; two of which are condemned. Dora Rockwell lives on 13th street. She considers herself one of the lucky ones. She was able to keep her home and she has flood insurance. "The insurance company took care of our main things like the furnace, the duct work, the electric and stuff like that," said Rockwell. The Rockwells live in a flood plain so flood insurance is a requirement, but the insurance came up short. It didnt cover all the damages, leaving the Rockwells to pick up a lot of the cost on their own. Rockwell said, "You have something wipe you out and then you have somebody tell you, ‘you didn`t have insurance for that, what did I have flood insurance for, this is a flood?" Rockwells neighbors are having the same problem with their insurance company. Maureen Ferguson said, "The insurance company won`t pay for damage to the porch because they say it`s an addition to the house, it`s not actually part of the construction. Our storm windows are in the basement and they`re considered contents, they`re not considered part of the house." Still, the Fergusons and the Rockwells realize it could have been much worse. "The people across the street lost everything," said Ferguson. "They had to file bankruptcy because they couldn`t get the money to fix the foundation." "I think that`s an awful shame, if they could have had some help, I mean they weren`t asking for that much more help and they could have saved it and stayed in the neighborhood," said Rockwell. WTVO was told the family who has filed for bankruptcy had flood insurance and only needed $10,000 more to finish the project. The insurance company wouldnt give them anymore and they couldnt find a bank to loan them the rest. Rockwell and Ferguson worry some of their neighbors without flood insurance may soon be filing as well. "The lady on the corner shes been here for years and years and she says shes never seen anything like this. She lost her whole basement and she doesnt have insurance," said Rockwell. "I dont know what theyre expecting the people who dont have insurance and who are elderly and living on a limited income [to do]." "It`s been a real struggle and we have insurance and we`re still hurting and there`s a lot of people who don`t," said Ferguson.