Flood victims say little relief flowing their way

Will Oremus

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2003 | 10:58 a.m.

On Champagne Way -- a street whose residents have received a flurry of visits from volunteers, officials and reporters in the wake of last week's flash floods -- sympathy is plentiful, but monetary relief has been scarce.

So when Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman dropped by Wednesday with field teams from the American Red Cross to assess the damage and meet with residents, reactions were mixed.

"Everybody's glad to see the mayor taking the time to come out here," said Larry McCorvey, whose house was inundated when floodwaters burst through the wall that stood between his yard and Rainbow Road. "He seemed to be really concerned."

But concern isn't going to pay to return his home to its pre-flood condition, and he hasn't seen a dollar in city, state or federal aid, he said.

Goodman has pledged to do everything he can to change that. On Wednesday, he expressed optimism that an effort to have the area declared a disaster zone by the Small Business Administration would bear fruit.

"We look like we're going to be getting SBA loan relief," Goodman said. "I understand that there is a threshold that we have met."

Small Business Administration official were scheduled to visit Champagne Way and other hard-hit neighborhoods today to determine whether residents and business owners qualify for assistance.

Even if they do, Champagne Way resident Hank Cronk said he won't be satisfied.

"I wouldn't take a low-interest loan," Cronk said. "It's still money out that I have to pay back."

Like McCorvey, Cronk said he thought Goodman's visit was a nice gesture that "made me feel real good," but he doubted that it would yield tangible results.

"I personally think they're just humoring me to shut me up," he said. Cronk explained that he had complained loudly to the mayor when he first visited shortly after the floods.

Elaine Sanchez, spokeswoman for the mayor's office, admitted that a low-interest loan from the SBA is "not free money, but it's better than you can get elsewhere" because of the loose criteria and low interest rates.

The business administration requires that "25 or more homes and/or businesses have suffered insured losses of 40 percent or more of their fair market replacement values" in order to declare a disaster area and make the loans available.

The effort to obtain a declaration from the administration arose after it became clear that the damage to Las Vegas's public infrastructure would be insufficient to qualify the city for a presidential disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Most people whose homes were damaged have not received individual assistance from FEMA because they didn't have flood insurance, officials said.

"Unfortunately your federal funds don't kick in unless there are certain plateaus that were reached," Goodman said. "Although (the flood) was devastating for the people it hit, it didn't qualify for FEMA federal disaster relief."

The mayor maintained that the city would find a way to help its flood victims whether or not the disaster declarations pan out.

"I know that Las Vegas is a very generous community, and when the word goes out that we're trying to raise money ... I know that we're going to respond, and we're going to be able to give them some financial assistance," he said.

According to Goodman, local businesses and individuals are already "stepping up to the plate" with offers of aid.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross and community volunteers continue to pitch in to ease the burden on flood victims.

Cronk said the most helpful people thus far have come from the Legacy Vineyard church on Cheyenne Avenue. Volunteers from the church have been working with residents to help them clean up, and Cronk said they recently planned and financed a block party for the neighborhood.

McCorvey said he has been visited daily by Red Cross volunteers, who have helped him repair his drywall and lawn and replace necessities like his stove.

Though the organization originally targeted houses on Champagne Way and a few other streets where the flood's effects were dramatically visible, Penney Towers, executive officer of the Red Cross's Southern Nevada Chapter, said the relief campaign is expanding as new information comes in.

"Because of that outing today, other people have called in, in areas that we did not know were affected, and so we've been able to send our outreach teams into those areas," Towers said.

The Red Cross has encouraged flood victims who have not yet been contacted to call 591-3081, or 1-800-HELP-NOW after hours. People interested in volunteering their time or money can use the same number.

At City Hall, Las Vegas's Management Committee for Emergency Operations was to meet this afternoon to hear reports and possibly take action on the status of the local flash flood emergency and other issues related to the recovery effort.