Hi, my name is Margaret.  I am a 34 year veteran of the Army (Active Duty, Army Reserves, and Army National Guard), who now works as a civilian for the military.  I am married to Mike, who suffers from a genetic defect which has left him blind.  We moved to the Quad City area (Rock Island and Moline, IL and Davenport and Bettendorf, IA) last year because of my work.  We purchased our house last summer shortly after moving here.

The Quad Cities area has been experiencing record amounts of snow last Winter and rain this Spring.  This has led to new records for flooding being set for this area.  I was not personally worried because our house sits on high ground well away from the Mississippi River. 

Memorial Day weekend brought more storms with heavy rainfall each day over the four day weekend.  Tuesday night I came home from work to find the hillside behind our house had slid, exposing the foundation of our house.  Currently, the house is not damaged and we are safe living inside the house, but the hillside has slide more the last couple of days, even without more rainfall.  There is more rain in the forecast.

The insurance company has informed us that the damage is not covered under our home owners insurance policy.  Further, if the house becomes damaged and unlivable because of the slide, we will not be covered.

Last night a landscaping company provided a rough estimate of $50,000 to "repair" the hillside.  Essentially, this would build a retaining wall which would save the house.  There are other things that will be done, but I lack the expertise to explain everything here. 

Currently, we are not eligible for a FEMA grant because the land slide occurred outside the dates for Federal Disaster Declaration for this area (March 12th - May 16th).

We am working with our mortgage broker to see if we can finance the repairs.  We have owned the house for less than one year and don't have much equity, so it is doubtful that we can get enough financing to cover the necessary repairs.

Unless we can find a way to have the hillside repaired this summer, we stand to lose everything. 

I have considered myself blessed and I have tried to help out where I could.  One thing I have specifically done in the last decade is make quilts for the Wounded Warriors.

I humbly ask for any assistance from those that read my story.

Thank you.