Are you covered when flooding happens? Chapel Hill businesses damaged

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The flash fooding in Chapel Hill caught so many people off guard, including many businesses in the Eastgate Crossing Shopping Center in Chapel Hill.

At Waxing the City, a popular waxing salon, heavy flooding left behind mud-coated floors, damaged furniture, and destroyed any inventory left on the shelves.

"Nobody was expecting it. We have flood gates around every door," said Marissa Brann, an employee. "Whenever we have bad storms come in, because we are in a flood plain, they do come put the flood gates up, but nobody came yesterday."

Floodgates, large metal doors placed on the outside of the doors to the businesses, are designed to prevent floodwater from entering a property.

Whitney Monroe, the salon manager, said that even if the floodgates had been up, she believes damage still would have occurred.

"To my understanding, the water came about two feet above the flood gate," Monroe said.

It wasn't immediately clear whose responsibility it was to put flood gates up or whether they would have helped.

Monroe said Waxing the City has flood insurance, but she expressed concern that the damage may exceed the business's coverage limits.

"With the way it's looking just in this area, I'm concerned that the damage is going to exceed what we need as far as repairs go," she said.

On Monday, Monroe was contacting customers to help temporarily relocate operations to Waxing the City's Cary location. She was waiting for the property managers to assess the situation and plans to have an electrician come to evaluate the damage.

A few doors down, the Chapel Hill location of Guglhupf, a popular bakery and restaurant based in Durham, also suffered extreme damage from Tropical Storm Chantal.

Now, after the water had receded, owner Sean Scott was left with cleanup after five feet of water rushed into the bakery.

"It was just wild. In two hours, it went from a foot to five feet," he said, "I mean, people got stuck and literally business owners got stuck in their properties that we rescued by raft."

Unlike Waxing the City, Scott said he does not have flood insurance.

"No, we don't have flood insurance, it's a little confusing right now. I thought we did, but our insurance guy said we didn't. So I don't know. We're still trying to figure it out." Scott added, "But we have other insurance that covers our equipment. I mean, most of what happened for us is damage to our equipment."

ALSO SEE | 80 rescued by boat, dozens of evacuations from Durham County homes due to major flooding

Despite the severe damage, Scott remained positive.

"I think the wonderful part of disaster is that it reminds all of us that we shouldn't take anything for granted, and how quickly things can change and how we really need each other in the worst times," he said. "As much as I hate this, I also love what it does to a community in an odd way."

Guglhupf's primary restaurant and bakery in Durham was undamaged and remains open.

Beyond damage to businesses, many vehicles were flooded during this storm. However, if car owners only have liability coverage, their policies will not cover flood damage. Only auto policies with comprehensive coverage typically include protection against flood damage.

When it comes to homeowners and renters who have had flood damage, your insurance policy typically does not cover floods.

"If somebody lives in an area that they think they ought to have flood insurance available, they need to talk to their local officials to get with the federal flood insurance program to see if they could get approved," North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said. "But you could still get flood insurance through private flood insurance companies that write all over the state."

It's important to note that for flood insurance, there is a 30-day waiting period. If you want protection, make sure to purchase it before it is too late.

If you have experienced any type of damage caused by flash flooding, call your insurance agent right away, report it, and take photos and video prior to clean up.