Help Maria and Bob, Hamburg Iowa Flood Took It All
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Maria and Bob need some help. They lost everything in the Hamburg Iowa flood.
My name is Rolf, I am Maria's son and I'm starting this GoFundMe to ask for help for my mom and step father.
Sorry for the long post but I want to try to explain what I can below for those that want to read some of their story and help.
Many people don't know this but Maria and Bob moved to Hamburg because in December they just lost their forever house in Omaha due to unexpected circumstances and were living in a hotel for about 2 months with their 3 of their 4 cats prior to their move to Hamburg. (They had to put one cat down as she couldn't survive in a hotel due to health problems).
(One of their cats George on the hotel heater)
After leaving their home in Omaha and living in a hotel for 2 months, Maria and Bob eventually finally found a house they could move to that was in their price range and had a two car garage for Bob's workshop tools. They had only just moved to Hamburg 2 weeks before the flood that devastated the area.
Around noon on March 17th, in Hamburg, the Sheriff came knocking on the door to tell them that the levees were breaking and the flood was set to arrive in Hamburg around 5-6pm. They were anticipating 5-6 feet of water.
Bob and Maria went to the shelter at the school to register with the Red Cross and while they were there, the water reached the town early at around 1:30. They had no time to go back to their house to get their belongings. The water was moving 1 block every 5-10 minutes and was already too deep for a vehicle to reach their home.
The cats were left at the house because they thought they were going to be able to go back and get them before heading back to the shelter.
Unfortunately, the water did not end up being 5-6 feet but was over 10 feet in some areas and was the most water the town had ever seen (even knocking down the emergency levee the town build around main street to protect the area.
Thankfully, they decided to evacuate the town that same day before the water got too high and blocked the roads. Eventually the power was cut, the water plant was shut down and so was the gas to the south part of the town.
Bob and Maria came back to Omaha to the same hotel they were staying at after losing their first home and before moving to Hamburg. They left the town with only a change of clothes and everything else was left behind.
They lived on the south side of the town just east of the 5 cement towers.
(Their home is in that red circle where the water reached the roof of their house.)
A few days after the flood, a woman was in Hamburg rescuing animals and tried to go to my moms house to see about rescuing her cats, but the water was too high to enter the home. Read her story here: https://www.omaha.com/living/woman-rushes-to-the-rescue-of-trapped-animals-in-hamburg/article_d6f7304a-1872-5fd6-a992-fb01d16e1e38.html
(This was how high the water was a few days after the flood hit and the water stopped rising).
The woman that tried to save my moms cats said she saw one of them had passed and was on the bed mattress. Of all the places she was able to save animals, my moms house was the only one she was unable to rescue animals from. No one knows if the other two have survived and my mom is still hanging onto hope that they may have survived in the upstairs where they have some food and their litter box.
Their home actually is still under water, while many in Nebraska and Iowa (including the north side of Hamburg) have started the clean up process already. This was their house last week and the water is still near this level.
Bob and Maria are looking into what assistance they can get from FEMA and what their insurance may cover but their home is a total loss and they are living in a hotel until they can move to an apartment while they search for a new home.
All their furniture and personal belongings were lost. They did manage to save their cars as they drove moms car to Omaha and Bobs car was at the school when the flood hit.
They only have a few items left in storage in Omaha from when they were forced to move out of their first home.
As mentioned before, the north side of town is dry and can already begin clean up but Maria and Bobs house is still under feet of water and the ceiling has caved in and the house is structurally unsafe.
It may be months before the water is gone but they are waiting until the water goes down to 2-3 feet so that they can try to enter the home to check for the cats and salvage any belonging they can before it get worse or the house collapses.
I will try to post updates as they come but I know that my mom and Bob are at rock bottom. They have lost everything but they haven't lost hope in that they will be able to rebuild some semblance of a normal life after recovering from this devastation.
They are not sure what the full damage will be until insurance and FEMA claims are settled (which will likely take a long time) but they know they will need any assistance they can get to help get back on their feet as they will have to eventually buy a new home and furniture and personal belongings because they lost it all.
Thanks to anyone who stuck with it and read this full post.
Any assistance is appreciated and if anyone cannot donate, we thank you for sharing this story and fundraiser. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, thoughts and consideration.
God bless all those impacted by the flood and those helping others to rebuild their lives.
(George Jr.)
(Minnie)
(Me and my mom)
(Mom and Bob)
My name is Rolf, I am Maria's son and I'm starting this GoFundMe to ask for help for my mom and step father.
Sorry for the long post but I want to try to explain what I can below for those that want to read some of their story and help.
Many people don't know this but Maria and Bob moved to Hamburg because in December they just lost their forever house in Omaha due to unexpected circumstances and were living in a hotel for about 2 months with their 3 of their 4 cats prior to their move to Hamburg. (They had to put one cat down as she couldn't survive in a hotel due to health problems).
(One of their cats George on the hotel heater)After leaving their home in Omaha and living in a hotel for 2 months, Maria and Bob eventually finally found a house they could move to that was in their price range and had a two car garage for Bob's workshop tools. They had only just moved to Hamburg 2 weeks before the flood that devastated the area.
Around noon on March 17th, in Hamburg, the Sheriff came knocking on the door to tell them that the levees were breaking and the flood was set to arrive in Hamburg around 5-6pm. They were anticipating 5-6 feet of water.
Bob and Maria went to the shelter at the school to register with the Red Cross and while they were there, the water reached the town early at around 1:30. They had no time to go back to their house to get their belongings. The water was moving 1 block every 5-10 minutes and was already too deep for a vehicle to reach their home.
The cats were left at the house because they thought they were going to be able to go back and get them before heading back to the shelter.
Unfortunately, the water did not end up being 5-6 feet but was over 10 feet in some areas and was the most water the town had ever seen (even knocking down the emergency levee the town build around main street to protect the area.
Thankfully, they decided to evacuate the town that same day before the water got too high and blocked the roads. Eventually the power was cut, the water plant was shut down and so was the gas to the south part of the town.
Bob and Maria came back to Omaha to the same hotel they were staying at after losing their first home and before moving to Hamburg. They left the town with only a change of clothes and everything else was left behind.
They lived on the south side of the town just east of the 5 cement towers.
(Their home is in that red circle where the water reached the roof of their house.)A few days after the flood, a woman was in Hamburg rescuing animals and tried to go to my moms house to see about rescuing her cats, but the water was too high to enter the home. Read her story here: https://www.omaha.com/living/woman-rushes-to-the-rescue-of-trapped-animals-in-hamburg/article_d6f7304a-1872-5fd6-a992-fb01d16e1e38.html
(This was how high the water was a few days after the flood hit and the water stopped rising).The woman that tried to save my moms cats said she saw one of them had passed and was on the bed mattress. Of all the places she was able to save animals, my moms house was the only one she was unable to rescue animals from. No one knows if the other two have survived and my mom is still hanging onto hope that they may have survived in the upstairs where they have some food and their litter box.
Their home actually is still under water, while many in Nebraska and Iowa (including the north side of Hamburg) have started the clean up process already. This was their house last week and the water is still near this level.
Bob and Maria are looking into what assistance they can get from FEMA and what their insurance may cover but their home is a total loss and they are living in a hotel until they can move to an apartment while they search for a new home.
All their furniture and personal belongings were lost. They did manage to save their cars as they drove moms car to Omaha and Bobs car was at the school when the flood hit.
They only have a few items left in storage in Omaha from when they were forced to move out of their first home.
As mentioned before, the north side of town is dry and can already begin clean up but Maria and Bobs house is still under feet of water and the ceiling has caved in and the house is structurally unsafe.
It may be months before the water is gone but they are waiting until the water goes down to 2-3 feet so that they can try to enter the home to check for the cats and salvage any belonging they can before it get worse or the house collapses.
I will try to post updates as they come but I know that my mom and Bob are at rock bottom. They have lost everything but they haven't lost hope in that they will be able to rebuild some semblance of a normal life after recovering from this devastation.
They are not sure what the full damage will be until insurance and FEMA claims are settled (which will likely take a long time) but they know they will need any assistance they can get to help get back on their feet as they will have to eventually buy a new home and furniture and personal belongings because they lost it all.
Thanks to anyone who stuck with it and read this full post.
Any assistance is appreciated and if anyone cannot donate, we thank you for sharing this story and fundraiser. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, thoughts and consideration.
God bless all those impacted by the flood and those helping others to rebuild their lives.
(George Jr.)
(Minnie)
(Me and my mom)
(Mom and Bob)Organizer and beneficiary
Rolf Rasmussen
Organizer
Omaha, NE
Maria Moninger
Beneficiary