Hurricane florence disaster fund
Donation protected
We are the Garner Family from Newport NC. Our family has lived in the area for generations. We lost our home and virtually everything during Hurricane Florence.
Water was rising so fast that we had to choose between saving our 3 dogs and cat, or our belongings. Of course we chose to keep our fur babies safe. After dropping them off with family (luckily they stayed safe), we rode back to the house and barely got past the flooded roads. Water was nearly up to the windows in the truck. By the time we grabbed the essentials and hooked up our trailer, it was too late and we couldn't make it through again. We had to seek high ground to stay safe. The only high ground we could get to was the old family cemetery, the Amariah Garner Memorial Cemetery, where we spent 2 nights in our car.
We had at least 7 feet of flooding on very inch of our property, including inside the house. Water was nearly 12 feet deep by our foundation. Our barn was completely underwater except the roof. Multiple tornadoes ripped apart the surrounding trees and rested some on our home. The day after the hurricane hit we went back to see the damage, and we had to take a boat to our home because the water was standing too deep. When we got to the house, we saw that looters had already broken into the attic and picked through our belongings.
A neighbor let us seek refuge in their camper, but we saw flashlights in the graveyard. When we got back, someone had looted the boat - our only means of making it to the house. We had the boat but they stole the motor, lifejackets, paddle, battery box, and anchor. Someone siphoned gas out of one of our vehicles too. We knew we couldn't leave our stuff again and spent another night in the cemetery.
It took 5 days for us to get out of Newport. We still dont have a place to stay. Any money we gather will help us eat, stay dry, take care of the pets, and it will go towards rent or a down payment on wherever we can end up.
Anything would help us begin to rebuild our lives. Looters took everything the could and the septic system backed up into our home, damaging and devastating everything that was left. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Water was rising so fast that we had to choose between saving our 3 dogs and cat, or our belongings. Of course we chose to keep our fur babies safe. After dropping them off with family (luckily they stayed safe), we rode back to the house and barely got past the flooded roads. Water was nearly up to the windows in the truck. By the time we grabbed the essentials and hooked up our trailer, it was too late and we couldn't make it through again. We had to seek high ground to stay safe. The only high ground we could get to was the old family cemetery, the Amariah Garner Memorial Cemetery, where we spent 2 nights in our car.
We had at least 7 feet of flooding on very inch of our property, including inside the house. Water was nearly 12 feet deep by our foundation. Our barn was completely underwater except the roof. Multiple tornadoes ripped apart the surrounding trees and rested some on our home. The day after the hurricane hit we went back to see the damage, and we had to take a boat to our home because the water was standing too deep. When we got to the house, we saw that looters had already broken into the attic and picked through our belongings.
A neighbor let us seek refuge in their camper, but we saw flashlights in the graveyard. When we got back, someone had looted the boat - our only means of making it to the house. We had the boat but they stole the motor, lifejackets, paddle, battery box, and anchor. Someone siphoned gas out of one of our vehicles too. We knew we couldn't leave our stuff again and spent another night in the cemetery.
It took 5 days for us to get out of Newport. We still dont have a place to stay. Any money we gather will help us eat, stay dry, take care of the pets, and it will go towards rent or a down payment on wherever we can end up.
Anything would help us begin to rebuild our lives. Looters took everything the could and the septic system backed up into our home, damaging and devastating everything that was left. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Fundraising team (2)
Charles Garner
Organizer
Newport, NC
Caroline Garner
Team member
Raised $2,530 from 9 donations
This team raised $2,472 from 29 other donations.
