Help Sonja and Johnny rebuild their home

The work has finally begun, however the funds allocated will only cover a fraction of costs so the appeal continues, in order to ensure that any future floods will not enter the building and render all the work obsolete. Thank you so much for all your help and support. We are Sonja and Johnny,on Xmas day 2021, at 8 am, we had to evacuate our Airbnb guests as the rain came gushing down the road and started flooding our cottages, by mid-afternoon there was several feet of muddy water in the cottages despite our efforts to sandbag the doors. Then the high tide started filling the river and the mill race and our house was under siege from the river. It came in all directions up to 96 cm of muddy water filled our home. We'd tried to stop it from getting in, but there came a point where all we could do was get upstairs and watch while we got surrounded by the river. Everything was floating away. The workshop contents, power tools, wheelbarrows, etc., were either gone or submerged. We'd tried to rescue as much as possible in the moments before by moving appliances to higher ground or upstairs, but it was futile. Epic proportions of water were crashing through the garden, taking rocks and stones and anything not nailed down off down the river. Once the tide went out, it was like the house had acted like a filter. The amount of mud left behind was unbelievable. Doors, floors, kitchen units, drawers and furniture swelled and became stuck or fell apart. The water got everywhere, lifting furniture and turning it over, all the Airbnb bedding stored in plastic boxes, now full of mud, along with all our clothes and chests of drawers as our bedroom was downstairs. So yes, our bed too was floating in mud. It's been a few weeks now, and we are exhausted, still cleaning, drying and sorting through moldy muddy possessions. So far, we have filled three large skips with appliances, sofas, beds and untold books, photos and precious things. A whole studio of art equipment and materials, it's pretty depressing. As we had to focus our efforts on getting the cottages back up and running, as this is our sole income, several areas of the house were left to absorb the muddy water and have become moldy and smelly.

The damage so far has amounted to over €100k. Our electricity bill alone was €3k (the house and the cottages combined) due to running dehumidifiers, wet vacs and fan heaters; goodness only knows how we're going to pay that! Then moving forward, the defences are going to cost a fortune. Unfortunately, you cannot get insurance against flooding if you live within a certain distance of a body of water, so we have to rely on your donations to try and replace some of the basic things we need to live. The Red Cross will hopefully help with the business and give us some aid towards replacing some of the furniture. In addition, the local council has issued a tiny amount towards replacing a few appliances.

As we speak, the house is being rewired, and the floors will need replacing. Flood defences need to be built. Some walls need rebuilding. Onwards and upwards. Apparently, this is a 'once in a hundred years' type of flood, so fingers crossed!. Thank you for sharing and caring, and thank you for your kind donations. We really appreciate them very much.