SHADYSIDE — A life-long Wegee Road resident lost all of his personal belongings in the 1990 Shadyside flood, but said the area remains his home.

Daniel Monroe has lived along Wegee Creek for more than 50 years and still remembers the flood as one of the worst days. Moore said he “lost everything” in the flood that day.

“I had a trailer and when the water came it hit one side and went through to the other side. I lost everything. It was rough,” he said.

On June 14, 1990, Wegee and Pipe creeks overflowed with water from heavy rainfall. In less than an hour, an estimated five inches fell onto the already soaked landscape. The excess water quickly flooded area creeks and streams resulting in what is described as a “wall of water” that swept away people’s homes, vehicles and killed 26 residents.

Although the deadly flood destroyed his family’s homes and property, Monore said that the area is home. His family has lived on Wegee Road for three generations.

“I was born and raised here and to me it’s home. … It’s been in my family for years,” he said.

Monroe was in the U.S. Army, stationed in Maryland at the time of the flood. However, his then pregnant wife was at their Wegee Road home on the day the flood occured. Monroe’s parents, Oscar and Shirley, also lived in a trailer next to the couple.

Shirley said Oscar was able to help rescue the family during the flood, getting them all to the safety of the hillside behind the couple’s trailer which had quickly filled with water.

While outside amid the flooding, Shirley said they heard the screams of another family that lived up the street from them.

“We had water bank to bank,” she said. “I heard the neighbors up there yelling for help. … Somehow, I believe God helped them, they were able to get out of the bank and they got in the tree. They were up in the tree when (Oscar) found them.”

The family had been swept out of their trailer and down the road, and all four — a mother, father and their two children –w were found clinging to a tree. Oscar jumped into action and rescued the family, Shirley said. The group were able to hunker down in a third home on the Monroe family property until the next day.

Monroe said both his and his parent’s trailers were destroyed, along with all three of their vehicles.

“We had two, three cars and we lost all of them,” Shirley said. “I just thank God that we got through it.”

The family also suffered the loss of three family members who resided along Pipe Creek.

The one good thing to come out of the devastating flood was the community pulled together to help one another, Shirley said. Shortly after the flood, she and her now deceased husband decided to build a new home on a higher elevated portion of land to replace their former trailer. The couple received assistance from all over with the new build.

“We had a lot of help. We had a dad and son come down from Columbus and put in our electric. We had a guy from Shadyside put in all our plumbing. … The one I really remember is the Baptist Builders from Tennessee came and put our porches on for us,” she said.

“People are kind hearted.”

Although it has been 30 years since the flood, both Monroe and his mother worry the creek could once again flood.

Monroe said he worries that Wegee Creek may flood again due to large boulders, tree limbs and debris that gather in areas of the creek outside his home.

“It’s (rocks and debris) making it so the creek is not so deep, so it won’t take much rain for it to overflow the bank,” he said.

Monroe said it doesn’t take much rainfall for the creek water to rise. He hopes the village will aid in correcting the issue before it gets worse.