Northport Officials Gauge Damage After Widespread Flooding

NORTHPORT, AL — The floodwaters from Tropical Storm Claudette on June 19 have long since receded, but Northport officials are still working to get a full understanding of the scope of the destruction, along with the individual impacts to the residents affected.

In Willowbrook Trailer Park, which is just off Hunter Creek Road, a dozen or more mangled trailers were still visible far into the property Thursday afternoon as Mayor Bobby Herndon and District 2 Councilman Woodrow Washington III went door to door attempting to track down residents. Cleanup efforts, primarily through the generosity of volunteers, has helped clear the roads in the neighborhood and many of the trailers now sit vacant, some with personal belongings left behind that are too damaged to salvage.

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"I've been going to different locations since I can walk now," Herndon said, alluding to his recent surgery. "But we've gotten out, we're looking at some of the creeks, and how far the sand is up here."

Official numbers for Northport following preliminary damage assessment

• 96 homes impacted in some way by the flooding, with five houses destroyed and 38 sustaining major damage.
• Officials estimate $2.94 million in damage for Northport on June 19, along with $409,418 in damage in the City of Tuscaloosa.
• 17 people were evacuated during the flooding, with 21 seeking shelter at Northport Baptist and another 11 classified as "displaced"

The flooding for Willowbrook was the result of torrential rain causing Hunter Creek to breach its banks and spill over into the neighborhood, with a force powerful enough to rip entire porches from the trailers and causing clear frame damage to several mobile homes.

Addressing the issues at Willowbrook will no doubt be complicated and multifaceted. On one hand, the cleanup of numerous destroyed trailers, along with rehabilitating the entire front end of the property, is likely to be a costly endeavor that could see dozens of residents displaced. On the other, city officials are now faced with visible, widespread infrastructure failures that can no longer be ignored.

What's more, a large portion of the mobile home park's population is Hispanic, presenting issues with the language barrier compounded by a general uneasiness and distrust with respect to government officials. This has made outreach particularly tough for volunteers and officials alike, but the primary task at hand, as far as City Hall is concerned, remains finding a way to prevent another destructive, large-scale flood event capable of spurring multiple infrastructure failures.

"Most of these mobile homes are in a flood hazard area," Herndon said. "It was like [the property owner] was saying, when people moved in they would say back your bags because you're gonna get flooded at some point."

When the trailer park was first built more than half a century ago, residential zoning standards regarding flood-prone areas were nonexistent, allowing the community to be grandfathered in despite present-day regulations.

Herndon and Washington both confirmed discussions would be moving forward in the coming weeks regarding what's next, but said for now, they are working on understanding the totality of the destruction caused by the flooding, along with addressing the myriad infrastructure problems exposed by the event.

In the meantime, nearly a hundred residents continue to pick up the pieces of their lives, with roughly a third of those losing their homes, as Patch previously reported, and having no choice but to stay at a temporary Red Cross shelter at Northport Baptist.

"The shelter is closed, but I know some of the ones at the front of the property have family that stay close by," said Todd Hamner, the owner of the park. "But some of them tried to find housing, and the wait is 3-6 months, so they are staying with family."

While questions and concerns persist as to how to move forward, the City of Northport has acted quickly to secure funding for immediate needs. On July 6, the City Council voted unanimously to approve an additional $500,000 in funds for immediate infrastructure repair needs, which will come from revenue generated by the city's recently-implemented 1 cent sales tax.

This brings the total allocation to $1.25 million, which will be reimbursable and not impact the city's general fund. However, as Patch previously reported, while the $700,000 local damage threshold has been met for the state to come in and conduct a damage assessment, Alabama is still waiting to hit the $7.5 million benchmark required for a federal disaster declaration.

Tuscaloosa County EMA continues to ask impacted residents to take photos of property damage and call (205) 349-0150 or call 211 to speak with a representative on the United Way's social service referral line.

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