PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. -- The heavy rains that hit the Richmond metro region Thursday night left some major flooding problems in Prince George County.
Jeremy Kephart’s rental house, yard and driveway on the 6800 block of Bull Hill Road in Prince George flooded Friday morning.
“Three to four inches in most parts, it gets deep as two feet in the yard,” Kephart said.
He showed WTVR CBS 6 reporter Melissa Hipolit several leeches in the water, including one that attached itself to his stepson’s leg.
“They are all over the place,” Kephart said.
Kephart pointed to a swamp next door to his house that he said dammed up and caused overflow water to stream into his yard.
“I wasn’t ready for this,” Kephart said.
Kephart said his leasing agent never mentioned the potential for flooding, and he has since discovered huge amounts of black mold, leading him to believe this is not the first time water invaded the house.
“Black mold just comes through--they put plastic up on the walls to hide it--it’s all through the walls all throughout here,” Kephart said.
Kephart’s neighbor, Bashaw Mason, said this is nothing new.
“I’ve seen two other families that had been there and had to deal with it and then moved out because of that reason too,” Mason, said.
A woman who answered the phone at the leasing agent’s office said they were “dealing with the situation,” but did not what was being done.
The on-call maintenance worker for the company said he visited the house, but there was nothing he could do.
John Kite with Michael and Son provided the following advice to keep water out, and what to do if water gets into your home.
Steps to keep your basement dry
- Keep gutters and downspouts clean and direct them away from your basement.
- Grade soft surfaces surrounding your home so water flows away from foundation walls.
- Check for cracks in poured concrete or block walls.
- Always store personal property, especially items of value, off the floor.
- Make sure you have adequate insurance coverage in case of a sewer backup or sump pump overflow
- Make sure all drains by exterior doors for basement are clear of debris
Safety
- Make sure all power is shut off to basement and let professional extract water before entering the basement.
Don't wait to protect your home or business after water or moisture has entered. Waiting can cause further damage. The quicker you begin drying the building structure, the less extensive the damage will be since molds can germinate within the first 72 hours.
Course of action
- Call a Restoration company
- Notify insurance company and possibly file a claim
