Family Working To Clean Pryor Man's Flooded Home

By Nicole Wiseman, The News On 6

PRYOR, OK -- Mayes and Rogers Counties got nearly eight inches of rain in just a few hours Friday. Pryor was one of the hardest hit areas and homeowners are feeling its wrath.

Many are working around the clock to clean the damage left behind.

"I didn't think I'd ever have a problem or I would have never bought (the house)," said Sanford Alvis, a flood victim.

Alvis has a huge mess on his hands - his Pryor home suffered major flood damage.

"The creek actually came up over the hedge. It was completely over the hedge, over the patio and about 19 inches to 20 inches on the glass door," said Gina Alvis-Watts, Alvis' daughter.

Alvis' daughter, Gina, as well as other family and friends, are helping with the cleanup efforts.

They're equipped with brooms and vacuums, moving furniture, pulling up carpets and bringing in fans as fast as they can before mold develops. Water even got into the ventilation system. In his 25 years of living there, Alvis has never seen anything like it.

"We've had some hard rain. We had six inches one morning, but it never even got up on the patio. This time, it flooded everything," said Alvis.

"My father is such a giving person," said Alvis-Watts. "It's really hard for him to accept help. He said, 'I can clean it myself,' but there's just no way he could do that. There's no way."

The family is hoping for an end to all the rain soon, before anymore damage is done. In the meantime, they'll keep at it until the house is home, sweet home, again.

"I think everything will be fine," said Alvis.

Luckily, Alvis does have flood insurance, but it does not cover contents, such as carpet. The family did not know this before and is now facing thousands of dollars in damage.

They hope others will learn from them and reevaluate their coverage plans in order to avoid this same problem.