Portion of Lanark swamped by rains

Karl and Kari Libby hold hands as they wade through the waters outside their home. [ Richard Bickel | Contributed ]

Barbara Rohrs stands in front of her Kentucky Avenue home. [ Richard Bickel | Contributed ]

A view of the massive flooding on the lots adjacent to Paul Rohrs home. [ Richard Bickel | Contributed ]

In a stretch of the Lanark area that has often seen minor flooding, Hurricane Helene capped off a wet month by completely inundating a large portion of Kentucky Avenue.

A wet September had caused flooding to the property of Barbara and Paul Rohrs but not to the extent that engulfed it last week.

Across the street, the home of Jimmy Jenks, the former pastor of the Carrabelle Church of God, and his wife, who is bedridden and being treated under hospice care, got several feet of water beneath it. But because it was built on pilings by monies from Hurricane Michael, it was spared all water intrusion.

Next door, however, the home of his daughter Kari Libby and son-in-law Karl Libby was not so lucky, as the water rose into the first floor, destroying heirlooms and memorabilia and making the home unlivable.

Libby, a professional photographer, had managed to save her camera equipment, but items she and her husband stored in sheds beside the property were not so lucky.

A Carrabelle police officer’s home nearby was also flooded, as were about a half dozen other properties.

Paul Rohrs said he had spent thousands earlier this month to rent a pump to force the water back on lands owned by The St. Joe Company, land that he insists has contributed to the flooding due to the company cutting trees there that would have served to keep the waiters under control.

It was a desperate situation for all concerned but the fact that it is private property had somewhat constrained the county’s ability to act.

Franklin County Emergency Management Director Jennifer Daniels said she got a call after the storm from Commissioner Cheryl Sanders asking what help could be brought to ebar in light of the rising water. The residents have been critical of the county for what they say has been ignoring their plight in recent weeks.

“It is private property and our hands are tied in a lot of ways,” said Daniels.

Daniels offered help from the Florida Department of Health and from the National Guard but it would come in the form of a “high water rescue team,” that could bring them to a place of safety.

“Pastor Jenks did not want to leave,” she said. He said he felt that since their home was spared flooding, and still had electricity, it would make better sense to keep his ailing wife in her home, which was still accessible.

Daniels then contacted John Crowe, with the Northwest Florida Water Management District, and as of early Sunday morning were able to come in and work on the property, by using a private contractor who got busy pumping the water out and draining it via hoses to a culvert along U.S. 98 to eventual emptying into Apalachicola Bay.

“We were able to put the mission in because of Hurricane Helene,” Daniels said. “It opened a few other doors to put in a mission request, to the state emergency operations center through a program called WebEOC, which is normally used for activation during storms.”

“They’ve been there since 3 a.m. ET Sunday,” Daniels said, adding that the department of health has been monitoring the situation due to the possibility of septic tanks floating up.”

The Libbys have been staying elsewhere, and the Rohrs are still at home, grateful for the help.

“On Saturday, the Lanark Volunteer Fire Department came out with a pump truck during the day and they were pumping water diligently all day,” Paul Rohrs said. “They pumped it back up to the woods on some dry ground.

“The private company has been going 24 hours a day,” he said. “They’re making progress.”