Rebuild the Rio: Help Us Recover After the Flood
Donation protected
Our beloved Rio Theater is under water, literally! The flooding of the Russian River is the worst since the 1990s, and the theater, cafe, and smaller Quonset huts on the property which house local businesses have all flooded. We need your support to clean up and repair all the damage.
We were able to get inside the building on Tuesday to move as much equipment and furniture as possible up to the second floor of the building. However, the flood waters breached the doors and filled the theater.
The roads are still closed, and the water level is holding around 45 feet, so we haven't been able to evaluate the building and assess the full extent of the damage. Most importantly, of course, no one that we know of has been hurt, but many people have lost everything.
We have been so moved by the emails, calls, texts, and offers of help and support, so we have set up this GoFundMe page to collect donations. Even before setting foot back in the Rio, our expenses have begun -- renting a water pump alone costs $1,000. Funds will go toward removing water, rinsing and cleaning off all the furniture and removing floor mud, drying all the seats and/or replacing them, removing and replacing damaged equipment, repairing and repainting walls.
Sadly we don’t have flood insurance. After Katrina and Sandy, FEMA changed its flood insurance program for commercial properties. Our $3,000/yr flood insurance ballooned to $40,000/yr for the Rio, which made it prohibitively expensive for us.
We are slightly overwhelmed by the task in front of us, will try to update this page as often as we can, but please also be patient with us if we haven’t had the chance to respond to you as quickly as we might like. We are likely knee deep in river sludge. Please also let us know if you are interested in volunteering to work to help with the cleanup.
Thank you so much for all your support. We are so proud to be part of this resilient community.
Photo by Paul C. Miller
Photo by Paul C. Miller
We were able to get inside the building on Tuesday to move as much equipment and furniture as possible up to the second floor of the building. However, the flood waters breached the doors and filled the theater.
The roads are still closed, and the water level is holding around 45 feet, so we haven't been able to evaluate the building and assess the full extent of the damage. Most importantly, of course, no one that we know of has been hurt, but many people have lost everything.
We have been so moved by the emails, calls, texts, and offers of help and support, so we have set up this GoFundMe page to collect donations. Even before setting foot back in the Rio, our expenses have begun -- renting a water pump alone costs $1,000. Funds will go toward removing water, rinsing and cleaning off all the furniture and removing floor mud, drying all the seats and/or replacing them, removing and replacing damaged equipment, repairing and repainting walls.
Sadly we don’t have flood insurance. After Katrina and Sandy, FEMA changed its flood insurance program for commercial properties. Our $3,000/yr flood insurance ballooned to $40,000/yr for the Rio, which made it prohibitively expensive for us.
We are slightly overwhelmed by the task in front of us, will try to update this page as often as we can, but please also be patient with us if we haven’t had the chance to respond to you as quickly as we might like. We are likely knee deep in river sludge. Please also let us know if you are interested in volunteering to work to help with the cleanup.
Thank you so much for all your support. We are so proud to be part of this resilient community.
Photo by Paul C. Miller Photo by Paul C. Miller Co-organizers (5)
Colin Mutchler
Organizer
Monte Rio, CA
Dermot Hikisch
Co-organizer
Maura Dilley
Co-organizer
Christie George
Co-organizer
Jani Leppanen
Co-organizer