Before (left) and after Mississippi River floodwaters engulfed Jolene Carter’s home in Grafton, Ill., leaving her house uninhabitable. STEMMING THE TIDE DAV offers disaster relief for Air Force veteran whose house was flooded by the Mississippi River By Matt Saintsing “ It gave me some hope to get some support and not be a burden on people.” —Jolene Carter, Air Force veteran T Dan Knabe (right), assistant supervisor of the DAV national service office in St. Louis, helped Jolene Carter apply for disaster relief aid after her home was flooded with more than 4 feet of standing water. he rough waters of the mighty Mississippi River began to rise gradually at first, this past spring, only reaching Air Force veteran Jolene Carter’s driveway before receding. However, less than two weeks later, her home was flooded with more than 4 feet of standing water due to heavy rains and snowmelt upriver. “It just came back up with a vengeance really quick,” she said. As cumbersome, waterlogged furniture floated from room to room, she assessed the extensive damage done to her house. The floods that ripped through her limestone-exterior dwelling, built in 1840, left mud caked throughout the first floor. Her drywall, flooring and wiring had severe damage. She also needed a new HVAC system, doors and windows. When she bought her Grafton, Ill., home in 2018, Carter was fully aware of its location in a flood plain— an area of low-lying ground that runs the risk of flooding. But she also knew that floodwaters had not reached the property since the Great Flood of 1993, in which large swaths of the Midwest were submerged, causing billions of dollars in destruction. 8 DAV MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 | DAV.ORG
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STEMMING THE TIDE
Matt Saintsing
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