(WSIL) -- This summer marks two years since flooding from the Mississippi River condemned homes and cut off access to others in Alexander County.
While the sandbags are gone, plenty of visual reminders still remain of the 2019 flood in East Cape Girardeau. The contrast between two years ago and now is stark, but when you visit, it's clear that these communities still haven't fully recovered from the prolonged flooding of the nearby river.
East Cape Girardeau resident, Barbara Robertson, says in her neighborhood, it came down to how fast you could pump water out of your home.
"Sump pump was going off every 30-45 seconds for three or four months, but ours kept on working where hers quit working and then she got all that water in her basement, and it just ruined everything."
The water flooded nearby neighborhoods, and permanently altered hers.
"They had to move out, she moved out during the flooding, they took her electric out of there, and that place is in bad shape, someone lives in it, but I don't know how they live in it."
But it wasn't just East Cape. Ethan Hale lives in nearby McClure and says some had to use a boat to get to town.
"All this, my uncles whole yard around his house was nothing but water." said Hale.
He and his family aren't leaving.
"Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best." said Hale.
Robertson says she's grateful to still be in her home, unlike so many of her East Cape Girardeau neighbors. But she says her home is worth less than half of what she paid for it, and she's still hoping for some kind of buyout.
