Help Whitney and Jason rebuild their home

 

"It's a nightmare."

 

Ida swept through New York City and destroyed Whitney Clearwater and Jason Emmendorfer's home and with it, memories of the past along with plans for the future. Whitney is 36 weeks pregnant and counting, and now from their small hotel room, they are struggling to put back together the pieces of their home and preparations for the baby.

 

Whitney described the devastation:

 

"At around 9:30pm Wednesday night, I was catapulted from my comfortable lounging on the couch by my husband's screams of profanity from the basement. I ran (which these days is a slow hobble) down the stairs to see an unbelievable sight of water flooding in through the storm doors and windows like a waterfall and holes had opened up in the basement walls that looked like hoses were draining into the basement. Within minutes the basement was filled with water and I was filled with terror that my husband would be electrocuted. I pleaded that he evacuate before my 9 month pregnant self jump in after him. The water continued to rise to fill the entire basement floor to ceiling. We worried it would spread to the first floor and we quickly evacuated our cats and ourselves to the second floor. On the second floor we could now see that the street was a river and our backyard a lake. Cars were floating down the street, neighbors were waiting in ankle high water on their first floors, and to our concern our 150 gallon propane tanks in the backyard were floating freely. But only 2 out of 3 were visible. We ominously heard loud crashes inside or outside the house. 911 was of course busy so we just hoped for the best. We watched as our neighbor desperately tried to drive his already flooded car to higher ground only to have it stall out and he swam back to his porch. Down the street a rescue team was saving another driver who had become trapped in their car on the street. The water was so high that cars bobbed freely down the street. During the peak of the flood, rainfall was measured at a rate of 6 inches per hour. As neighbors climbed to their second floors and porches we shouted out to check in on each other until the rain started to slow. There wasn't any sleep that night. By morning the water had receded on the street but there was still 4ft in our basement. A firetruck made its way down our partially blocked street and firemen found our 3rd propane tank and helped us turn them all off. The next few days we were furiously trying to drain our basement and demolish remaining water logged dry wall and insulation without electricity. Our losses were significant. However, the most remarkable thing was the compassion and generosity from neighbors and coworkers. Our worst hit neighbors went door to door making sure everyone was ok before attending to themselves. Now the financial toll of the damage is starting to roll in and we're learning a hard truth that insurance and FEMA don't even begin to cover the burden."

 

Whitney and Jason are currently trying to get back electricity, which most likely will take up to a month. They need to replace the whole panel and previous electrical system. Their foundation was destroyed and according to the structural engineer, will not last through the fall/winter. In addition, they will need a new HVAC system, boiler, washer/dryer, heat pump, and window A/C. The water reached the subfloor through the ceiling of the basement so there is possible damage there along with the necessity of mold mitigation.

 

In addition, they lost much of what they had for the baby including strollers, car seats, clothes, a high chair, mattress, bouncer, crib, etc.

 

Tragically the flood also destroyed many of the treasured memories from Whitney's mom and both of their families.

 

To say the least, it is a nightmare. Total damage most likely will surpass $100,000, and insurance and FEMA barely make a dent. Please help us take some of the burden off Whitney and Jason right now.