McCLURE (WSIL) â€� On Monday, state officials were in McClure and East Cape Girardeau surveying the damage left behind by months of flooding. Â
"It’s still smelly," said property owner Donna Kay Humphrey.
Humphrey has been cleaning her home in McClure since floodwaters receded.Â
"It’s been a process. I still have a little frog pond out there," Humphrey said, pointing to her front yard where a small amount of water still sits.
She’s trying to keep a positive outlook on things, but says being surrounded by water has taken a toll.
"It was horrifying. It was stressful," Humphrey said. "If it hadn’t of been for a couple and their family, that lives out here past the hills, I wouldn’t have had a house."
Humphrey is still assessing the damage left behind by those floodwaters.
"I’ve noticed the cracks significantly getting bigger, so I don’t know what the damage is going to be as far the foundation part of my house is concerned," Humphrey said.
Surveyors with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency spent Monday looking at properties in East Cape Girardeau and McClure to see how bad the damage is. This will help local officials gather all of the documentation they need for assistance.
The agency may offer some help down the road and Humphrey said there aren’t many other options.
"We can’t get flood insurance out here," Humphrey said. "They’ve told us we cannot have flood insurance out here, so we’re just out."
FEMA likely won’t help since McClure opted out of protection from the federal government, a key difference between the village and East Cape Girardeau.
Humphrey said she’s anxiously waiting for whatever help she can get.
"This is all I own in this life and I cannot leave it. I can’t. I can’t leave it. If I end up having to pitch a tent, I might just have to do that. I don’t know, but I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving my home right now."
A spokeswoman with IEMA said the agency’s crews, along with FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Association, will be back in Alexander County sometime next week to see if the area meets the threshold for assistance.