VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Depending on how severe the weather from Hurricane Ian is, some neighborhoods could see flooding. This is why some are clearing off the cobwebs and scarecrows from their front lawn.
For Kathy Higham and her husband Ron, they say they’ll wait a little longer before putting away their decorations. As Hurricane Ian approaches, they say they feel more prepared than when Hurricane Michael came to their door six years ago. At the time Kathy was home alone with her 4-year-old granddaughter and two small dogs when flood water from the street poured into her home.
"The water got into the house late at night and it didn’t come slowly it came all at once," explains Higham.
Their escape was Kathy’s tall bed where they took refuge all throughout that night until the next evening. While her granddaughter slept, Kathy said she kept watch to see if the water would rise more, yielding a life vest and a flashlight.
The next day Kathy’s loved ones came to rescue those in the home and trekked to safety through food and water. Higham says most of the family's belongings were lost. One of the items that survived was a dresser passed down to Kathy by her mother before passing away. Miraculously, of all things that got washed away by flood water was an itsy-bitsy spider decoration did not.
"I put a spider web up since years ago when Hurricane Matthew came up and my spider web weathered the storm and it stayed up and was kind of like our little focal piece. I left the spider up for the whole time we redid our home," explains Higham.
After going through that flooding, Kathy joined the Virginia Beach Community Emergency Response Team.
"What this is it’s for citizens to be the first responders before the responders," explains Higham.
Higham has almost completed the program and after her experience surviving a disaster, she’d like to be a helping hand in her neighborhood.
If you’re interested in being part of an emergency response team the city of Virginia Beach is still looking for volunteers. You can find those details by clicking here.
