BETHEL – Nearly three weeks after the catastrophic July 11 flooding that destroyed Chapman Brook Watershed, a handful of residents are looking for help with insurance companies balking over covering their property damages.

Their homeowners insurance providers apparently wouldn’t cover the damage because it was considered the result of an act of God, according to Jane Walker of 432 North Road.

“Our insurance guy came over and said he’s not going to help us, because our homeowners doesn’t cover the mess, they say,” Walker said Tuesday of she and her husband Douglas’s property and vehicles, which sustained an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 in damage.

“We’re not asking for much. We’d just like to have something. Here we’ve been paying thousands of dollars to insurance every year and they don’t cover everything. This is not a flood zone, so we didn’t need flood insurance,” Jane Walker said.

Other property owners who sustained damage include Vernon and Tamara Davis, who live off the Bethel Water District’s Reservoir Road, also called Daisy Bryant Road; and North Road residents Cynthia Moran-Laux and husband Bob Laux, John and Barbara MacDougall, and Robin Gilbert.

Damage to the Davis property was estimated at between $20,000 to $25,000; to the Lauxes’ yard and large trout pond that was filled with silt, $35,000 to $40,000; to the MacDougalls’ house, foundation, yard and two vehicles, $35,000 to $40,000; and $750 to $1,000 to Gilbert’s basement, which was filled with water.

In a July 24 letter seeking help from Bethel Town Manager Scott Cole and selectmen, Bob Laux of 459 North Road, designated spokesman for the group, stated, “We all consider ourselves blessed that no one was injured during this event. However, without exception, all property owners are left to personally deal with the property destruction from this event. This loss does not appear to be covered by anyone’s homeowners insurance.”

An agent with Kendall Insurance Agency of Bethel, which represents Northeast Financial Services Co. and Concord Group Insurance of Concord, N.H., and some of the affected homeowners deferred comment to Northeast, which didn’t immediately respond on Wednesday.

Rachel Irwin and Kevin Kelley, respective spokespersons for U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, said Wednesday by phone in Washington, D.C., that the senators are trying to help.

“It is unfortunate that last month’s severe flooding in Bethel has caused emotional and financial distress for several homeowners,” Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement by e-mail late Wednesday afternoon. “Our offices will continue to reach out to the affected families and offer to do all we can to try and find appropriate assistance on the federal level.”

Kelley urged the homeowners to contact the Maine Bureau of Insurance which can help them determine if their insurance company was correct when it denied their claims.

To start the process, however, President George W. Bush must approve Gov. John Baldacci’s request for a federal disaster declaration, which both senators urged Bush to do last week.

Kelley said that if the request is approved – a process that could take several weeks – staff for Snowe and Collins could work with the owners and help them apply for loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“This would at least help cover the costs of repairing damage to their homes and property,” Kelley said.