This past Sunday, August 18, my family and I were among the families that were hit with heavy rain and flooding. My husband, my teenage daughter, and I purchased our first home in Southbury CT three and a half years ago. At the back and side of our house we have a stream and the bridge on our street next to our property got clogged up by debris which caused the water to rise up all around the house leading to severe damage and the destruction of the landscape of our property.

This also caused heavy flooding in our basement, garage and pool which filled with not only water but mud and sand. After the initial flooding we were woken up in the middle of the night by a flash flood which caused muddy water to leak into our bedroom and living room. This second flash flood caused the water in the basement to rise almost to the ceiling, and when we looked out our windows the house was completely surrounded by water.

Unfortunately, we decided to evacuate for our safety and did not return until the next morning. When we returned we did not know the full extent of the damage to the exterior or the interior of our property. We were not able to determine the full extent of the damage to our basement because we weren’t and still haven’t been able to get down there due to how flooded it is. Our water heater, oil tank, furnace, personal items, and household items are all down there along with other belongings and equipment. Our garage has been left in at least two feet of mud and many expensive items such as a fridge, washer, dryer, and other stuff we kept there are severely damaged and no longer usable. We're not able to walk through most of our landscape including our front lawn and backyard without getting stuck in mud and we have a lot of random debris lying around throughout the property. Our pool area has been mostly destroyed including the loss of our hot tub which floated away along with most of our patio and pool equipment and the surrounding fence. We are devastated by what has happened to our home and we are struggling to figure out how to deal with this since we do not have flood insurance and we are also expecting a new baby in November.

We appreciate any donations given, this will help me and my family with this devastating event. Any contribution will help us, we are truly grateful for the support we've received. We are still in shock from this event, and again, any donation or help is truly appreciated. With much love, The Pineiro Family.