Flood Waters And Residents Gone

Thursday marks two months since the Verdigris River flooded Coffeyville, Kansas. The town is still cleaning up and city officials say they have a lot of work ahead of them.<br/>The News On 6â€™s Chris

Wednesday, August 29th 2007, 9:46 pm

By: News On 6

Thursday marks two months since the Verdigris River flooded Coffeyville, Kansas. The town is still cleaning up and city officials say they have a lot of work ahead of them.
The News On 6â€™s Chris Wright reports on the progress the townâ€™s made in two months.

"It's like it's haunted down in that area. There's no one there, it's like you're driving into a town and there's no one there," Coffeyville resident Norma Kerns said.

The floodwaters stopped just short of Norma Kerns home two months ago. An East Coffeyville resident for more than 20 years, she and her dogs will continue to live here. But almost all of her neighbors, their homes in ruins, have left.

â€œSo you think it will never quite be the same in your neighborhood?â€ asked News On 6 reporter Chris Wright.

â€œNo, I don't think so, I really don't," Kerns said.

Many people in Coffeyville share that attitude. The floodwaters, filled with thousands of gallons of spilled crude oil, displaced about 2,000 residents. Some have left town, others are still living with friends and relatives here. The Refinery responsible for that spill is up and running, but thereâ€™s no word when residents will be awarded temporary housing.

The residents eligible for temporary housing are still waiting for their FEMA trailers. They're about 50 of them here in town, but they're all sitting on the tarmac at Coffeyville airport. City Clerk Cindy Price says the town is waiting for FEMA to deliver about 100 more mobile homes, then city officials will have to figure out where to put them.

"Then they'll get started with the infrastructure in place so that we can put our citizens in a temporary location, that's really our top priority right now," said Coffeyville City Clerk Cindy Price.

Of course, the mobile homes are only a temporary solution. The flood-ravaged neighborhoods won't be coming back. The city says new homes will not likely be built in place of the ruined ones, so whether or not flood victims will be able to once again call Coffeyville home remains to be seen.

Coffeyville Resources Refinery is still in the process of buying out homes contaminated by that spilled oil. It will also be responsible for demolishing them.

City leaders say in two years, they would like to be farther along than New Orleans is. They hope to have much of Coffeyville rebuilt by then.

Watch the video: Floodwaters Are Gone In Coffeyville And So Are The People

Related Stories:

7/20/2007 Refinery Announces Plan To Purchase Flooded Homes

7/24/2007 Refinery's Home Purchase Program Moves Forward

8/6/2007 Flood Victims Ponder If They Should Stay Or Go