Even though water poured under the door of the bingo hall, Marsha wasn’t worried about her home being in danger because it was located in a more elevated area of the town. Marsha didn’t have a lot of difficulty getting home, but when she walked in the door she heard the sound of rushing water. Runoff from the sodden ground was pouring through a basement window, with the floodwaters ultimately accumulating up to her knees.
By the end of the next day, the water in her basement had receded, and Marsha cleaned up as much as she could, feeling grateful that her washer, dryer and water heater had remained dry because of their location at the high end of the basement. It wasn’t until October, when she switched on her furnace for the first time, that Marsha realized it had been damaged in the flood. The gas company “red tagged” it, and for several weeks Marsha and her Chihuahua, Peanut, sat between two space heaters to keep warm.
The man from the gas company also informed her that her basement was full of mold from the flood and that it was a health hazard. It was at this point that Marsha contacted the flood recovery office for assistance. “So many other people were in worse shape that I didn’t want to complain,” she said.
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