Second major flooding in 11 months brings plenty of business

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<p align="justify">Insurance agents and water damage restoration companies got a lot of repeat business Tuesday.

<p align="justify">They were inundated with calls from victims of Tuesday's flood, some of whom were hit by last year's Labor Day flood.

<p align="justify">"Hit once is bad enough," said Lori Gaddis, vice president of John H. Camlin Insurance Co. in Rockford, "but to be hit again, that's really hard on them."

<p align="justify">Tuesday morning, Gaddis said her company got about as many calls as they did after the Labor Day flood, but from a wider geographical area.

<p align="justify">She might have gotten more, but a lot of people in flood zones don't have flood insurance because it costs so much. One couple was hit last year had their insurance rise from $700 a year to $800.

<p align="justify">"My personal opinion, I think people think the city was going to fix it and a lot of them can't afford it," Gaddis said. "That can be more than what your homeowners' insurance is, it's pretty tough on people."

<p align="justify">Tom Etier, owner of Keystone Insurance Agency in Rockford, said many victims of the last round didn't have insurance because they didn't meet federal requirements. To get flood insurance, he said, the buildings had to be occupied for 90 days. One client put $45,000 to repair a rental property and was about a week shy of the requirement.

<p align="justify">"All those people over there that are just getting back on their feet are getting crushed," Etier said.

<p align="justify">Commercial buildings are also getting hit by flooding, with sewers and drains backing up, he said.

<p align="justify">Meanwhile, cleanup crews are hard to find.

<p align="justify">Servpro in Rockford was calling in water damage restoration crews from other company offices Tuesday. By midday, it had 30 clients, including some they won't get to until later this week.

<p align="justify">A-1 Restoration was working with 28 clients and had about 60 waiting in the Rockford and Elgin areas; some won't be reached until Thursday, company owner Jeff Dunbar said. About 75 percent of them are in the Rockford area.

<p align="justify">The company is required to work for insured property owners first, particularly some major commercial clients.

<p align="justify">"Some people, they don't even know if they're insured and we're telling them to find out," Dunbar said. "It's not cheap."

Staff writer Thomas V. Bona may be contacted at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.</font>