Owners to begin cleanup, pay-up

The repairs will cost the families tens of thousands of dollars.
& lt;a href=mailto:jgoodwin@vindy.com & gt;By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR & lt;/a & gt;.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The rain may have stopped for the time being, but that marks only the beginning of the cleanup and repair process for those in neighborhoods like the 4000 block of Southern Boulevard.
Lynda Zurco stood outside looking through the gaping hole where the basement wall used to be in her Southern Boulevard duplex. The house was roped off with yellow police tape, the yard was soft from water saturation, and a ring around the aluminum siding shows where the water crested.
The only sign of the normalcy that was once at the house is a scarecrow head still standing in the front yard. The smiling straw face almost seems cynical after Wednesday's events.
It was Wednesday, Zurco said, when heavy rains engulfed the neighborhood, turning many yards into muddy debris-filled swimming pools.
The water pressure, she said, became too great for the house, first breaking the basement windows, then causing two basement walls to cave in. By Thursday morning, the house was being held up by only one central support beam.
Standing in the driveway of the duplex, one can easily see the exercise equipment, dishes and other family items still sitting in the basement. Those items, some that cannot be replaced, will likely have to be thrown out with the trash.
What's being done
By Thursday afternoon the contractors were at work stabilizing the building and preparing to replace the missing walls. Though the Zurco family has carried insurance on the building for 19 years, the repair cost will come out of their pockets. Lynda Zurco said the insurance company told her the flood damage would not be covered by her policy.
"I was in awe. There really is no way to explain this," she said. "We have paid insurance on this house for 19 years, and they will pay nothing. I would suggest everyone check their insurance to see what they are covered for."
Making the repairs may mean changes in plans for the Zurco family. Lynda Zurco said her husband had planned on retiring in the near future and selling the house, but with the pending repair bill ranging from $20,000 to $30,000, those plans may be put on hold. The family was in the process of updating the house.
Another case nearby
Three houses away, homeowner MaryAnn Tavolario is also digging out from under a collapsed basement wall in her duplex. Her insurance company has also said none of the damage will be covered.
Tavolario had just spent several thousand dollars remodeling the house, including several improvements to the basement.
Tavolario has not seen the basement of the house -- there is too much mud to make it into the basement. She has, however, taken inventory and figures her two renters have lost a good deal of personal items and appliances. She has returned the month's rent to the displaced renters so they can use it toward housing someplace else until the repairs have been made.
Both Zurco and Tavolario say this is not the first time flooded basements have caused damage to their homes. Lynda Zurco's daughter, Lani Zurco, said the house gets some water and sewage backup every time it rains. The drainage system in the area cannot handle the large amounts of water, she said.
Tavolario said she spent several thousand dollars waterproofing her home after the basement filled to the ceiling with water in the 1980s.
& lt;a href=mailto:jgoodwin@vindy.com & gt;jgoodwin@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;