CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It didn't take long for the water to rise, flooding homes along Riverside Drive. It also didn't take long for the water to recede. When it did, homeowners got their first look at the damage left behind.
Now, the clean-up begins.
"You're kind of spinning around in circles," said David Bragg, whose home took in nearly six feet of water. "You don't even know what to do."
Bragg and his wife spent much of Tuesday pulling their drenched belongings out of his mud-filled garage.
"So, we have like a 'maybe we'll salvage pile,' and a 'trash pile' right now," said Bragg, as he chuckled.
If you ask him how he's feeling, he'll tell you he's numb. The reality hasn't fully sunk in. The mud throughout his house, back porch, and back yard has, though.
"We had actually just grown our grass back from the last flood," he explained.
He, like so many others who live on his street, survived the floods from Hurricane Hugo in 2013. They said this time was worse.
"It was a full current running through the house," he said. "This one, this one's bad."
Some of his belongings are scattered. His children's rock-wall was found off his property and down the street. His pier that once floated in the river behind his house somehow managed to float past his house and landed on the side of his street, houses down.
"My trashcans are over there," he said as he pointed behind a neighbor's piece of land.
Many of his tools are painted with a coat of mud. His tax records are now ruined, too.
"Yeah, all my paperwork for every year," he said. "I put them pretty high up on a table, too."
The first floor of his house used to be a studio, decked out with editing software, speakers, and other equipment. Now, it's nearly a complete loss.
Furniture is thrown everywhere. The stench of mud and the humid feeling can be felt in and around his house.
Now, the race it on to clean everything out and start pulling out the wet walls.
"Two feet above the water-line, you're going to have to tear everything up," he said, as he feared for mold to set in.
After the floods in 2013, Bragg said they had about two feet of water inside the first floor. Insurance didn't cover a dime, according to Bragg.
He said he got a preliminary estimate of the damage done, and was told it will likely cost roughly $75,000 for everything.
"I'm not really expecting anything," he said in reference to the insurance company.