With the city of Midland and federal regulations making it near impossible for my parents to get back into their house after it was destroyed from a flood that could have been prevented; we're looking for some help.

I'm not one to share personal struggles online like this, but this situation has me lost. My parent's house was destroyed in the flood after a preventable dam collapse. They had a contractor begin tearing the inside of their house apart for reconstruction. Thousands of dollars had already been spent on this before they received a notice from the city saying that they would have to now raise their house 8 inches and fill in their basement if they have to spend more than 50% of the house value for repairs. This is due to regulations from the "100-year flood plain" they are in by a mere 50 yards.

The repairs are estimated for well over 50%, so we figured we would just do the majority of the work ourselves to keep it under 50% and bypass raising the house. Midland officials are now saying that this doesn't matter because it isn't the work that actually goes into reconstruction, but the cost that would put it the way it was before the flood. This is after my parents filled out forms stating the damage done to the house for insurance and the city. Midland officials are also passing blame saying that FEMA is making the rules and there is nothing they can do about it.

All they wanted to do was to fix their house, save the few belongings that they could, and put this in the past. Now they probably have to walk away from their house because they can't afford the costs, lose the value of selling a finished house, pay off the rest with their retirement savings, and find a way to fit what they can in an apartment.

I would hope that there would be more common sense and the ability to make your own decisions with your own property. Every donation is going to my parents in order for them to rebuild this home that they loved.

This is a video from ABC12 News where they spoke with my mom.