Rob: Parts of Kansas also saw severe weather this summer that left an
aftermath stretching into Oklahoma.
Here's our Jessica Betts.
Jessica: This past July, residents in the far northeastern part of the
state experienced one of the biggest flood disasters seen in decades.
Homes were completely damaged, farm crops destroyed, and public
buildings demolished, but despite all the material things swept away by the
raging waters, a spirit of love and Oklahoma pride remains, especially in
south Coffeyville.
Jessica: Scotty Herriman is a fulltime farmer in Nowata County, a mile
south of Coffeyville, Kansas.
And just 4 months ago, everything you see here,
was underwater and covered in oil.
Scotty Herriman: It was devastating, for myself,
farming primarily river bottom land.
We had 1700 acres out of which about 1200 is river bottom.
And we lost everything due to the floods.
The high water mark was right up here on
this ridge where we're standing.
And it went over the top of it and left the oil residues in our mobile
home that we lived in.
And it just saturated it for two days, and completely ruined it.
Jessica: But there is a happy ending to this tragic story.
With no income and currently living in a travel trailer with his
wife, he's only two weeks away from moving into this brand new home, thanks to
friends and neighbors in the community.
Herriman: Here's the master bathroom with shower and walk-in closet.
We're thrilled about all this.
It's more than we deserve, I'm telling you.
Herriman: He says looks like you're going to need a house.
I said yeah, but how are we going to do that, with no income?
He says, we're going to make it happen.
About 4 months later, and he kept his word.
Uh, we're going to have a house.
A friend of mine hauled the shale in to raise it 42 inches to get it above
the flood line.
The concrete man donated labor.
Jessica: Carl Pollet is a long-time friend of Scotty's, and it just so
happens, he does this type of work for a living.
Carl Pollet: The least we could do was to come up and offer our assistance.
That's a gift that we've been given, and we need to give back.
Jessica: Blessings, Scotty says, he could never re-pay with money.
Good people and a little faith, priceless.
Herriman: You know there's always something good that comes out of something
bad, and if we can just trust in the Lord to lead us that way, and wait for
it, it's going to happen, and I think we're witnessing that right now.
Jessica: Now this certainly is a touching story and one that can be
repeated all across the state.
While I was there, I drove another hour east to Miami
to see how the city is recovering.
Tim Wilson is Miami's public works director and said more than 650
residents, and about 50 to 60 businesses were affected by flood waters.
But I couldn't tell from a simple drive though the city.
Thanks to FEMA, more than $4 million have been spent in city repairs and
clean-up efforts.
And from the combined work of city officials and community residents, Miami
is on its way back to its old self again.