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Damn Flooding Basement
11 years ago
My art studio flooded again in the flash flood last night. I had water over my knees in the basement, which is my art studio..at least two feet of water over all of my stuff. We noticed it fairly early on (a container floated and flipped over, causing glass bottles on it to shatter on the floor), and were able to get a lot out of the basement, but it went from two inches to two feet in less than an hour. My beloved heirloom desk from my great-grandpa's medical practice was almost fully submerged. I'm so afraid of that thing being ruined. I'm sure it's worth at least $10-20k, easily. My renters insurance covers none of it. Nor does Shawn's home owner's policy.
Shawn and I feel like this house is a tomb, a shackle, a cage, a trap. This is the third time since spring that the water has backed up bad enough in the backyard that it backwashed into the basement, but this was by far the worst yet. This time the water was deep enough to come in through the windows, as well as the door (the water was streaming in so forcefully that the door was bowed inward..no blocking it or stuffing towels in the cracks, etc., even if we had the resources to do so). The backyard flooded so bad that the 4ft chainlink fence was totally under water. The garage flooded too, and Shawn's motorcycle had water up to the seat, potentially ruining it...we're too scared of trying to start it and confirming it is dead.
The washing machine, dryer, chest freezer, furnace, water heater, etc. all suffered water damage too, besides a large portion of my art and art supplies.
We're not really even sure where to go from here..FEMA can't do anything without the president declaring the area a natural disaster area. We don't have funds to afford any of this. Those few feet of water are threatening to ruin our lives here as we know it..knocking out money for vehicle payments, making this house unwanted by us or any future buyers. We just don't know what to do or where to go next.
Anyone have advice or help to offer us?
Shawn and I feel like this house is a tomb, a shackle, a cage, a trap. This is the third time since spring that the water has backed up bad enough in the backyard that it backwashed into the basement, but this was by far the worst yet. This time the water was deep enough to come in through the windows, as well as the door (the water was streaming in so forcefully that the door was bowed inward..no blocking it or stuffing towels in the cracks, etc., even if we had the resources to do so). The backyard flooded so bad that the 4ft chainlink fence was totally under water. The garage flooded too, and Shawn's motorcycle had water up to the seat, potentially ruining it...we're too scared of trying to start it and confirming it is dead.
The washing machine, dryer, chest freezer, furnace, water heater, etc. all suffered water damage too, besides a large portion of my art and art supplies.
We're not really even sure where to go from here..FEMA can't do anything without the president declaring the area a natural disaster area. We don't have funds to afford any of this. Those few feet of water are threatening to ruin our lives here as we know it..knocking out money for vehicle payments, making this house unwanted by us or any future buyers. We just don't know what to do or where to go next.
Anyone have advice or help to offer us?
I know it's closing the barn door after the horse has been stolen, but if you stay there you'll need to get flood insurance. Apparently, no other type of insurance will cover damages from flooding.
Shawn is ready to just move, if at all possible. I'm ready for that too, and have my fingers crossed that it turns out to be a feasible option for us...But I really don't know who is going to want a hell hole like this. The upper level of the house is just fine, a bit dated, but it has no crazy problems. The basement is useless though. We don't even want to get a new washer/dryer in here, or see about getting our's repaired because there's nothing stopping such an issue from happening all over again. I want to brick off the basement and just fill it in with cement, but there's not much of another place to put the water heater, laundry area, furnace, etc. in the upper level.
For now, we are just taking the little steps that we can, seeing where they take us, and going from there. Little steps including getting outside perspectives, so thank you for your comment, Muru <3
To make myself feel less trapped here, I've been browsing local homes for sale tonight...There are some really nice options! ..Now if only we could actually get this place sold and move somewhere new! *dreams*