The Rains Came, Destroying the Kilpatrick's Home

Hello friends, We have lost our home, and probably will be unable to recover much of anything out of it. This is our story:

 

Here’s What Happened to Our Family and Our Home:

 

We saw the Emergency Warnings from the National Weather Service via Cherokee County Emergency Services.

 

Wednesday, 07/20/2022 11:55pm FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 02:45AM Thursday

 

Thursday, 7/21/2022 1:21am FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 03:00AM Thursday

 

Thursday, 7/21/2022 2:25am FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 05:00AM Thursday

 

Thursday, 7/21/2022 8:55am FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 11:00AM Thursday

 

Thursday, 7/21/2022 10:47am FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 03:00PM Thursday

 

WE WERE TRAPPED in our home. At any moment, our house’s foundation could crumble beneath us, sending Margie, Daniel, Betsy, our 12-year-old Labrador, and me sliding down the mountainside. Trees were falling all around, taking out power lines. We knew that one of them could easily fall on our home, taking away our shelter from the torrential rain. Margie and Daniel were both terrified. We knew our home was severely damaged, possibly a total loss. We were worried that we had no way to get to safety. Our driveway had completely collapsed. The roads were washed out. WE COULD NOT GET OUT!!! We hoped for a break in the storms so the mountain could dry out enough for us to leave.

 

It continued to rain some each day. It was not until five days later, on Tuesday, 7/26/2022, that we braved the muddy ruts and slid down the mountain to the safety of a paved road. Our worries were not over. The Emergency Warnings began again.

 

Thursday, 7/28/2022 11:14am FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 02:15AM Friday

 

Friday, 7/29/2022 2:05AM FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 3:15AM, Friday

 

Thankfully, we were safely out of our damaged home by this time. Through God’s grace and mercy, our good friends from Marble Springs Baptist Church, the Teague Family, offered us their vacant double-wide mobile home, located about 8 miles east of Hayesville on Hwy 64. Margie, Daniel, Betsy, and I had escaped to safety.

 

 

The Damage & The Cost to Repair Our Home:

 

Cherokee County condemned our house’s foundation. It will cost $30,000 to repair it.

 

Our home’s septic lines need to be replaced, and the estimated cost to excavate and install a new system for our property is $10,000.

 

The foundation of our current driveway is unstable and cannot be repaired. It is a total loss. Installing a new driveway in a different location is estimated to cost $30,000.

 

We have 7 acres of land. On our land, 50 to 60 trees must be cut down because the rains severely damaged their root structures. Several of them have fallen in the past week. There are also another 15-20 trees on an adjacent property that need to be removed to insure the integrity of the power lines. The best estimate we have received is $1,000/tree, so we are looking at $65,000 to $80,000 for tree removal. No one wants to take this job because of our land’s rugged and steep terrain. 

 

Even if we did all of this work, to make our home safe from the future damage storms will bring, we would need to install culverts and other safeguards to direct the water flow away from and around our home. The estimated cost for this project is $20,000.

 

All of these repairs total $190,000.

 

 

Our Plan to Begin Again:

 

Our home has been in the family since the 1930s. It is difficult to let it go, but the cost to cure everything far exceeds the appraised value of the entire property. Our beautiful 7 acres of paradise with all the improvements has an estimated value of $160,000. We started with a tiny cabin and quadrupled the space, turning it into our home as our family grew.

 

We have to walk up to our property and have done so several times, packing up and carrying out essential papers and whatever else we can salvage. A friend is attempting to make the road passable. It is a private road, so we are doing this ourselves, without any county support. Each new rain washes it out. I am working part-time and making the trip to the house 3-4 times each week in the hope of bringing out a few more things. The fallen trees have taken out the power lines to our house, so there is no power at our home. A generator, which will run out of fuel in about three weeks, is running the refrigerator and air conditioner. We hope this will be enough time for us to get out as much as possible before they spoil and mildew takes over. The road is not stable enough to bring in another load of fuel.  

 

We need to start fresh. We need a home where Margie, Daniel, Betsy, and I will be able to safely live without fear of freak storms ravaging our house and stealing our peace.

 

We hope to buy a small piece of land and put a double-wide mobile home on it. As no Natural Disaster was declared for Cherokee County, no assistance from any government agency is on the way. Our insurance company has refused to pay a single dime because they claim the damages result from a flood. We do not have flood insurance. The house is almost on top of a mountain. Flood Insurance? You’ve got to be kidding.

 

What We Need:

 

Margie, Daniel, our faithful dog, Betsy, and I have lost almost everything. Although Daniel is doing better, Margie is still overcome by anxiety whenever it’s rainy or windy. We need $10,000 to get us on the road to having a home, to cover moving expenses, all of life’s necessities, and to establish some sense of normalcy once again. We are blessed to belong to several extraordinary communities and to live in an area where people help each other when times are hard.

 

This disaster is the first time I have ever had to turn to our friends, neighbors, and community for help. Usually, I am one of the helpers! It is a humbling experience sharing all that has happened to us with our community. This is a cry for help. If you can contribute to this GoFundMe, we are forever grateful. Please share this with those you know. Whether or not you can contribute, we ask for your prayers for our family and for other families who are in distress, as prayer is, in and of itself, a huge help.