Residents and businesses are still feeling the effects of the Tropical Storm, more than two weeks ago

“It was very unexpected. This was the first time flooding and water of this magnitude couldn’t be handled.”

CAROLINA BEACH (WWAY) — It’s hard to imagine a family home passed down to you looks like this.

“It was very unexpected. This was the first time flooding and water of this magnitude couldn’t be handled,” says Carolina Beach resident Daryll McCaskill. “I was overwhelmed. I didn’t even know where to start. Do I start with the ceiling? The floors? The insulation? It was like having my foot nailed to the floor, and I kept going in circles. I didn’t know where to start,” McCaskill says.

McCaskill had renters in his home until Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight came through more than two weeks ago, destroying everything.

Keelin: “How much went inside the house?
Mccaskill: “The front house received about 14 inches from the floor and the back house, at 20 inches.”

To make matters worse, McCaskill didn’t have flood insurance to cover the damage.

“We have every other insurance but flood because we never flooded. My brother and I entertained the thought about nine months ago. He said, ‘Well, they never flooded. So, it’s probably not going to happen.’ So, here we are.”

There is still a lot of damaged furniture on the side of the road in Carolina Beach, but the best part for these residents is that some of the damaged furniture is being picked up off the side of the road by others. Despite that, the rebuilding process is still ongoing. A short distance from his rental property, businesses are also rebuilding.

“It kind of happened. No one planned for this, but people had worse than we did,” says Max Sussman.

Sussman owns The Veggie Wagon on Lake Park Boulevard, which has been there for 15 years.

“We lost everything. All of our equipment. All of our food,” says Sussman.

However, he’s no stranger to loss. This is his second time rebuilding after losing his mini grocery store to Hurricane Florence.

“We wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else. We will do it again if we have to,” Sussman assured.
And to see them rebuild in good spirits, even after having to swim through four feet of water, they know better days are coming.