Some people in the town of Chapel Hill lost everything during Sunday’s flooding.
Video footage from Chapel Hill showed cars strewn across a parking lot, furniture toppled and doors off hinges.
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At the Camelot Village condominium complex at 130 South Estes Drive, Vanessa Byrd said it’s her second time dealing with flooding. Byrd said she had to crawl out of a bedroom window to escape the flooding.
Camelot Village residents said despite the well-known flash flooding issues, nothing is being done to stop them.
“All the furniture and everything has been compacted together,” Byrd said.
Everything inside Byrd’s home likely needs to get thrown away.
“People like me can’t afford to pay $1,300, $1,400, $1,500, $1,600 or $2,000,” Byrd said. “This is the only destination we have.
“The town needs to do something about this.”
The town has tried to address Camelot Village’s history of flooding. A town of Chapel Hill spokesperson said the town tried to get Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] funding to buy the most flood-prone units and demolish them.
According to the town spokesperson, "Property owners have not reached an agreement that would allow this."
The spokesperson said the town is continuing to advocate for FEMA funding to purchase the most flood-prone units for demolition.
Property records show that of the 117 units at the property, only 25 are occupied by the owner themselves.
WRAL Investigates asked the town spokesperson if or when the town could step in to close the property down. The spokesperson said it could only happen if the buildings were not up to code.
The town spokesperson also said the town has looked into creek remediation efforts to divert water from Camelot Village. The spokesperson said the property is in a floodway and "given the geography, this isn't a feasible option."
The town is working on a damage estimate, the spokesperson said.
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“I’ve got one leg,” renter Dale Weldele said. “My prosthetic couldn't handle the current.”
Weldele said neighbors, strangers to him, are the only reason he got out alive as waters rose, up to 4 feet.
“It was just crawl against the roof right there, an inch at the time, until I got to the stairs,” Weldele said. “I realized if I fell, I wouldn't be able to make it. I would've been swept away.”
Weldele said he hopes to move. A lot of the people at Camelot Village said they hope to move. However, it's just that not easy, unfortunately.
The town said Camelot Village was built before Chapel Hill banned construction in such low-lying areas.