Glen Phifer decided he’s going to fight for his home.
The floors are muddy and wet, the refrigerator toppled by floodwater and the furniture completely destroyed but none of that changes Phifer’s mind.
Phifer, along with his girlfriend and dog, fled the home on Tippecanoe Drive in Riverwood, a community north of Noblesville, in the early morning hours of Aug. 14. His van was already partially submerged in water when he trekked back inside to grab one last armful of items, including clothes he needed for his job as a maintenance worker.
Since returning home to the damage, Phifer considered salvaging the few items he could and driving away from the house he owns on the White River forever. But he saw his neighbors already beginning to work on repairing their houses.
Phifer decided he couldn’t leave Riverwood.
“That’s the only reason I’m back,” Phifer said as he stood behind his home on Aug. 17, while the White River still flowed over Riverwood Drive, one street over. “I’m not leaving these people. My neighbors are like family to me.”
The White River crested in Hamilton County at approximately 24.60 feet around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 15, breaking a record set more than 100 years ago, according to the county. The unprecedentedly high floodwaters and accompanying storms have killed at least seven people across the state and led to multiple water rescues throughout central Indiana.
In Riverwood, one of the hardest hit areas of Hamilton County, residents are uniting as they work to rebuild.
Kim Hanson, the owner of the community’s general store, called the Riverwood Trading Post, has worked with a company to place dumpsters throughout the area for residents clearing out the soaked carpeting, drywall, furniture and other debris from their homes.
Hanson owns four rental properties in the community that were damaged in the flood, including a home that she recently remodeled.
She turned a log cabin she owns in Riverwood on Hiawatha Drive, called the clubhouse, into a hub for recovery. Inside there’s a kitchen, bathroom, pool table and stacked donations of bottled water, food, clothes and hygiene products.
Her plan is to serve hot meals at the clubhouse every day as residents work to rebuild their homes. Hanson arranged for homemade spaghetti and garlic bread to be served on Aug. 17 for residents who have gotten started on the process.
The public has stepped up to help Riverwood already, but Hanson doesn’t want people outside of the community to forget how long the recovery will take.
“In a month or two, we are still going to need assistance,” Hanson said.
‘Back-breaking’ restoration work begins for Riverwood residents
Many residents of Riverwood don’t have flood insurance so the hard work of repairing their homes is up to them.
“There’s a ton of back-breaking work about ready to happen in here,” said Lawrence Gordon, who owns a home on Tippecanoe Drive and who said he does not have a flood policy.
Gordon said the house, where his grandmother once lived, has been in his family for at least seven decades. He was in the process of remodeling the home before nearly three feet of river water flooded the street outside.
Inside the house, Gordon said, the muddy water came above his knees before it receded. The floodwaters reached higher than at any other point since his family has owned the house, he said. On Aug. 17, Gordon began removing soaked furniture and started to rip out the drywall, flooring and cabinets.
Just a few houses down, Kim Tornholm and her grandson salvaged sentimental items from the home where Tornholm has lived for the past 24 years. She found a binder with family photos and information on her family’s past that remained intact. But a flash drive containing a slideshow from Tornholm’s mother’s celebration of life got wet in the flood.
“I might have a few of those photos on my phone somewhere,” Tornholm said. “But [the slideshow] had music to go along with the photos, and it was so special to me. It took me so long to put together.”
Still, Tornholm said she feels blessed that her grandson has stepped up to help.
“All we can do is just clean up and pray that some stuff is going to be saved,” Tornholm said. “I’m grateful I’m alive. Everyone in the community is alive and all of our pets are alive at least. But it’s going to be a long road ahead.”
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19. Click here to get Hamilton County news sent straight to your inbox and subscribe to the IndyStar North newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Only reason I’m back’: In flooded area, neighbors are why he stays
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
