My name is Angela, and my husband, Chris, and I have two children Zeke (3 ½) and Olivia (18 months). Our family was deeply impacted by the July 5th Big Sandy Creek flood in Leander, TX.

In the early hours of July 5th, around 1:30 a.m., our NOAA weather radio woke me with a flash flood warning for Big Sandy Creek. We get a few of these a year, and the creek had never once reached our backyard in the eight years we’ve lived here, so I didn’t think much of it at first. I remembered our dogs were outside and went to bring them in. One came right away, but it took about 10 minutes to coax the other from the shed where she was sheltering from the rain.

As I got her inside, I noticed the sound outside was different, louder than just rain. Chris came into the living room after I had woken him calling for the dogs. I told him it sounded like the rain was “roaring” and asked him to check the creek. He laughed, knowing it had never risen into our yard before, but seconds later, he rushed back inside saying the water was less than 15 feet from our back door. We needed to leave immediately.

We quickly grabbed the kids and dogs. Chris called family who also live along Sandy Creek, while I called neighbors urging them to evacuate. By the time we reached the car, water was already rushing over my feet as I climbed in and reversed.

When we reached the Big Sandy bridge, it was already compromised with debris and water flowing over it. The only safe direction was uphill, to the water tower on Big Sandy Dr. For the next five hours, our family and about 15 neighbors sat in our cars, waiting for daylight and not knowing what we would return to.

When we finally got back, we were grateful to see the house still standing. All of our outdoor belongings were gone, but we were safe. Like the rest of the neighborhood, we jumped into search and recovery efforts, as the response from city, county, and state was minimal to nonexistent.

We soon learned Chris’s sister, who lives on Long Hollow Loop, had lost her home and everything in it. I immediately set up a GoFundMe and began gathering resources for her. At that time, we didn’t yet realize the extent of damage to our own home. Within a week, two separate organizations assessed our property and confirmed major damage: foundation and brick sections knocked out, the house shifted, water in the subfloor, over 36 inches of water outside, holes in our master bathroom wall allowing debris inside, water seeping in from exterior walls, ceiling cracks, and floors beginning to bow.

Within weeks, mold began to grow, and we had to get our young children out for their health. We were blessed to be gifted a camper, which we now live in on family land. Sadly, most of our belongings had to be thrown away due to mold and the unbearable odor, though we were able to save a few sentimental items.

We had rented our home on Big Sandy Dr. for nearly eight years. When we informed our landlord of the damage, he told us no repairs would be made, as neither he nor we had flood insurance, a common situation for most in Sandy Creek.

Now that our extended family has begun receiving help, we are asking for assistance for our own little family as we start over. Every bit of the money raised will go towards helping us getting a place of our own, even if it’s just some land to put our camper on for now. Any support would mean the world to us.