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Marshall, NC (WLOS) — A raging French Broad River, up several feet from the heavy rain that fell overnight, shocked an RV owner Friday.
“One minute you wake up and it’s there, then you come back and it’s just gone,” said Derek Velthuis, who owned the camper.
The river swept the RV downstream — almost effortlessly.
Velthuis said he couldn’t believe how quickly things took a turn.
“It’s like the rug being pulled out from under you,” Velthuis said.
The camper was parked on Rollins Road, just outside downtown Marshall. It was Velthuis’ home.
“My wife and I saved up for months to try to get this camper,” he said.
When he left for work Friday morning, Velthuis said he wasn’t worried about the river.
But then …
“My parents called me around 8:30 a.m. and told me that their yard out here has started to flood, so they were worried about my camper,” he said.
So, Velthuis left work early to check on his home.
When he first got there, his camper was flooded.
“I waded down to my camper, got to my front door and got as much as I could carry,” he said.
The only things he was able to salvage from his camper were some personal documents, the RV’s manual and insurance paperwork.
He then left, hoping the water would lower soon. Unfortunately, it did the opposite.
“It must have raised another foot and a half in an hour,” he said.
“That thing is gone,” Velthuis said, referring to his camper. “I mean, I don’t know where it is. For all I know, it’s in another state right now. Even if I could find it, nothing in there is going to be salvageable anymore.”
Now, Velthuis is just trying to stay positive.
“At least I still have my truck, I still have my job, a way to make money. I’ll just start over, I guess,” he said.
“What else am I supposed to do?”
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