She was just 4 years old when the floodwaters first tore through Beth McCreary’s hometown of Globe. Her father’s truck was swept away by a river of rainwater as she waited outside the courthouse for a typhoid shot. Over seven decades later, the lifelong resident watched helplessly as her hometown drowned again — three lives were lost, and her granddaughter’s cars were carried off just as her father’s truck once was.
“It’s just overwhelming,” McCreary, now 75, said.
Two weeks after unprecedented flash flooding decimated the town of just more than 7,000, the community is banding together to rebuild their home.
“In the 1954 flood, people didn’t come around like they did this time,” McCreary said, “It’s overwhelming and absolutely wonderful.”
On a recent Thursday morning, McCreary headed to the fairgrounds, where the Salvation Army set up shop, supplying a myriad of donations, including food packages, water, hygiene products and clean clothes. She and other community members trickled into the warehouse, greeted by volunteers with warmth in an otherwise sterile environment.
Since the initial flooding, residents faced another round last weekend due to rainfall from Hurricane Priscilla, leading to significant damage to the city’s water pipes. Globe Water Department and Gila County Public Health and Community Services issued a notice asking affected residents to boil all water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes.
Lt. Loren Philpot and Capt. Perfecta Weeden with the Salvation Army led a second wave of volunteers to continue aid and cleanup after flooding in late September. The organization’s work has been critical for relief efforts, they said.
“People have lost so much that they just have so many needs and now they have a safe space to come be able to get what they need,” Philpot said.
The lieutenant, who grew up in Globe, said the community support has been a redeeming feature amid the destruction.
“It just brings joy to my heart,” Philpot said.
Dozens of volunteers rushed to help after the initial flooding, Philpot said. Among those volunteers was Globe resident Santana Lira, 27. Since the flooding, she said she has worked without sleep to aid her community despite being among those affected most.
Lira and her family were eating dinner at Salinas’s Smoke Street when the rain started. Their meal was interrupted when restaurant workers ran in in a panic.
“‘The cars! The cars,” they screamed.
Not looking to take any chances, Lira and her husband flung their two children over their shoulders, put their truck in four-wheel drive and sped off. A frantic video taken by Lira shows streets beginning to rapidly flood as they drove through.
“If we waited any longer, we would’ve been stuck in it,” she said. “I don’t know what would’ve happened after that.”
Her parents, Joe and Séaneen, lost their house to the floods, just three years after paying it off and renovating it entirely. Lira said her parents could not afford flood insurance. They would now have to start at square one.
“They have to start from scratch, down to the toilet and sink,” Lira said. “Everything is just gone.”
Family photos, blankets, TV remotes, even Lira’s old school binder, were caked in mud and scattered across what was once a patio her father built. In addition to her childhood home, Lira also lost her job at La Casita Cafe in downtown Globe. It was destroyed by a 6-foot wall of water.
Across downtown, cars were piled on top of one another inside of gutted storefronts. City workers condemned several businesses, plastering their doors with orange notices warning people to stay out.
Despite the devastation, Lira shared McCreary’s sense of hope watching the community come together.
“There’s lots to be sad about, but there’s more to be grateful for,” she said.
Just down the street from La Casita Cafe is Globe Antique Mall, a popular shop in the downtown area. The store’s owner, Brenda Tyler, 77, says she started collecting when she was 20 and still living in England. Her daughter, Michelle Sallows, said the store was her mother’s “pride and joy.”
Tyler had everything from books, chandeliers, a vast collection of cowboy boots, one-of-a-kind china and a whole room of vintage furniture. Now, many of those collectibles are unsalvageable.
They hoped to have the shop up and running by December, but similar to the Liras and La Casita Cafe, Tyler doesn’t have flood insurance. She told Cronkite News that companies were asking for as much as $30,000 a year from businesses.
“We enjoy what we do but we have to make money for a living,” Tyler said, “I got my own house and mortgage, and now I don’t have an income except my Social Security.”
Like their neighbors, Tyler and Sallows shared the sentiment of community. Friends and family filled the store, power washing mud from display cases and using toothbrushes from the Salvation Army to scrub surviving knickknacks.
“We’ve had people come in and spend all day with us, washing, packing, sweeping. It’s just been exceptional,” Tyler said.
Lira noted that although residents were more prepared for the October flooding, her parents’ home took in close to another inch of water.
While organizations like the Salvation Army continue to provide direct assistance, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it is providing low-interest disaster loans for Arizona and tribal businesses, private nonprofits and residents affected by the flooding.
In a statement, Mayor Al Gameros said the city is still in the process of qualifying for FEMA and DEMA funds.
“The past two weeks have been an emotional and physical rollercoaster for our city and our entire community,” Gameros said. “We hope and pray that the worst is finally behind us.”
For Globe residents, the heavy lift is just beginning.
“Everything has to be done in steps, and it’s slow,” Sallows, the antique store owner’s daughter, said. “We can’t snap our fingers and everything be done.”
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
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