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Columbia County Residents Remember The 2011 Flood

SCOTT TOWNSHIP — Three years ago, thousands of people’s lives were turned upside down by the Flood of 2011. One of the hardest hit areas was Columbi...

SCOTT TOWNSHIP -- Three years ago, thousands of people's lives were turned upside down by the Flood of 2011.

One of the hardest hit areas was Columbia County.

Even though it was three years ago, Lorraine Bunge remembers the flood of September 2011 just like it was yesterday.

"You give up after a while," she recalled.

Her daughter Charlene lives just outside Bloomsburg along Old Berwick Road in Espy.

"You had to try and clean up and try to remove walls," Bunge added.

She says her daughter is home now but had to live with family and friends for about a year because of damage to her house.

Just down the road in Espy it was lunch time at JP's Cold Cuts. Owner Chris Ehmer remembers getting around by kayak because the water outside his sandwich shop was so high.

"It was pretty nasty. We lost everything in the store and a lot of cleanup, six months out of business."

Just a few blocks away the flood forced Spike Gillespie Signs to close for four months. Co-owner Ray Bull says he is still finding mud and residue inside his buildings.

"This was our livelihood that was lost. It was a heartbreak."

Bull says if there were to be another flood, he'd be a lot more prepared next time. He says most of his equipment is on wheels, so he'd be able to get it out a lot easier.

"Heaven forbid the water ever comes back up again, we will be a lot quicker in our evacuation and what we do," Bull said.

"And there will be another one. And you just deal with it," Ehmer added.

"You just take one day at a time and keep on going," Bunge said.

Most of the flood damage in Espy is cleaned up but there are still reminders of what happened three years ago. Many buildings along Old Berwick Road remain vacant, and many homeowners say they've had a hard time selling their houses.

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