Hundreds of gutted homes line the blocks of Anderson's neighborhoods like Park Place, Riverbend and Irondale. Evacuated residents have spent the past two weeks cleaning up the wreckage, piling dumpsters high with everything from photos to drywall, crowding the sidewalks with destroyed furniture.
Now, residents are beginning to confront the cost and labor required to rebuild: Many flooded homes require new floors, walls and HVAC systems. Vehicles need to be repurchased. Some residents don't have a reliable place to stay.
Many of the houses damaged by floodwater were in low-income, financially distressed areas, said Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick, Jr. He estimated that more than 500 homes sustained severe flood damage, with several hundred more experiencing damage to a lesser degree. Many are now unlivable or in need of substantial renovation.
Disaster recovery programs and city provided relief are popping up to fill some immediate needs, but residents say they're not sure how they will afford what comes next.
Some residents did not have flood insurance. Others who had purchased the addition to their homeowner's insurance said their claims were denied or covered only a fraction of the cost of recovering from the disaster.
Anderson resident Jennifer Landis said her flood policy was minimal, just enough to meet her mortgage requirement. She anticipates eventually receiving $40,000 from her claim, but as she assessed the damage done by nearly four feet of contaminated floodwater, she realized the sum wouldn't be enough to fix the house.
"It's not going to cover a rebuild," she said, looking around at her empty home. "There's nothing. Realizing that over and over is very, very hard."
Jerry Roberts lives just outside Anderson's floodplain. The floods crashed into his house regardless. He said his insurance company has refused to give him any money.
The Roberts family lost two cars, including a newly purchased Chevrolet Camaro, a garage full of tools and most of the furniture and cabinetry in their home. Jeremiah Roberts, Jerry's adult son, estimates the family will need $150,000 to get back on their feet.
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As Anderson residents work through the process of state and federal aid applications and insurance claims, the city is providing a $1,000 check to qualified renters and homeowners through a $600,000 emergency assistance fund.
Workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in Anderson next week to assist residents impacted by the flood. In the meantime, the city has suspended bus fares, waived repair permitting fees and promised that no power or water lines will be disconnected until "things become more normalized," Broderick said.
Nothing is normal in Nate Wood's home. The house on Milton Avenue is mostly empty. A foot of drywall has been hacked off of every wall. Large gaps riddle the kitchen where cabinetry and appliances once sat.
Wood said he has already spent $17,000 to replace the heating, venting, air conditioning and water heater destroyed by floodwater. To afford everything else – new floors, new furniture, a new kitchen – he drained the money he had saved for a down payment on a new car.
"Everything is gone," Wood said. "Everything you're looking at is all I got left."
Questions about flooding? Ask IndyStar's environmental reporting team.
Sophie Hartley is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X at @sophienhartley. IndyStar's environmental reporting is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mounting recovery costs daunt Anderson residents devastated by floods