AG flood destroyed everything we owned

I woke up to the light pitter-patter of rain on Monday morning, got my warm black uggs on, and walked out back to start working in my office. It was the first Monday of 2023 and I was ready to take the day by storm. Not even an hour later, I hear Zack screaming for me and I opened the door to find him wading in water up to his ankles, trying to alert me & keep me from getting electrocuted or swept away by the impending flash flood. The storm was taking our day and our lives right before our eyes.

I grabbed what I could but we really only made it out with 2 suitcases before the house filled with almost 4 feet of river water and firemen were ordering us to evacuate. Everything we own is destroyed: furniture, cars, clothes, toys, Zack's tools, Brian's birth momentos, jewelry, everything. The house is being demolitioned right now to mitigate mold, all the way down to the studs. I keep thinking back to the marital fights we had about countertop and tile choices, and which color couch would be best, and finances... and the devastation we felt looking at it all underwater. We thank God every minute for allowing the 3 of us (and our 6 pets) to make it out unharmed.

We had crews of cleanup, demolition, and renovation working to repair our life, until the continued rain (and inadequate drainage to the "creek" behind our property) caused another flash flood and sent the crews packing, narrowly escaping as we did days earlier.

You'd think insurance would cover us, right? Well... homeowners only covers floods coming from within the home, not natural disasters. Flood insurance covers about this much. The nightmare is no where near over as we sift through debris and river silt to find any resemblance of items worth saving... because flood insurance won't cover our belongings. Endless phone calls, FEMA applications, multiple trips to Walmart, food, hotel costs (out of pocket!), deductibles, and time spent away from work are all just too much to handle.

I always tell my son that it's okay to ask for help, yet I never follow my own advice... until now. I'm calling out to anyone and everyone that can help us with clothes, meals, funds, rides, rental apartment leads, advice and prayers! The cars being flooded has proved difficult to get my son to/from school & SLO. Our house has been red-tagged uninhabitable and we need to find long-term placement. I tried to throw myself into work so we can make some money, but I'm being pulled in every direction. Our families are helping in every way possible, yet there's only so much they can do... so I'm sending out an S.O.S. to anyone who can heed the call!!!

CLOTHES: Brian is size 6T, size 12c shoe. I am a small or medium in most clothes, size 8 shoe. Zack lost the most clothes but he's 6'6" so xl or xxl, size 13 shoe. I bought new underwear/socks so we are good there!