Flood Disaster (Erin Milliken)

Erin and I have been friends for decades. Our friendship has seen each other through many ups and downs. The loss of a child, divorces, true love, a rainbow baby, etc. Now she has come across another awful life-changing event. As we all know, in the last few days massive flooding has taken over a lot of the area. Erin and Ray live along Baugo Creek which is now completely flooded. The destruction is severe. When they purchased their house, flood insurance was not required so they didn’t realize the creek would ever rise the way in did. In the middle of the night, with a toddler and pre-schooler, they had to leave their home in a canoe as their car was trapped, flooded with water. They know the list of damaged items will continue to grow when they are able to get back in the house and assess the situation. Right now, the water is almost three feet deep on their lower level. To replace everything will be an overwhelming amount of money on an already tight budget. Their washer, dryer, riding lawn mower, the furnace, and water heater are all submerged. The home office and Ray’s shop/equipment for his business are completely underwater so he is unable to work until they can get that up and running again. Their septic tank will need an inspection before they move back in and the well is more than likely going to need to be replaced as their pressure tank is floating around the basement. All the carpet and drywall for almost 900 sq.ft., will need to be torn out and replaced. Upon further inspection when the water recedes, I’m sure they will find a more extensive list of damages. These things alone will cost over ten thousand dollars to replace and fix. None of this even touches on the “luxury” items lost and destroyed, like their TV, entertainment area, treadmill, paddleboards, indoor and outdoor furniture, clothing, toys, etc. To add insult to injury, they are getting married in two months, their wedding venue is also flooded and they have honeymoon tickets that are non-refundable. Mother Nature has shown no mercy! It will take them years to recover from this. Please help in any way you can. Thank you so much.