Ryan & Tiffany Phelan's Hurricane Ian Disaster

Hi! I am Mickie Zada.

This video shows Hurricane Ian's wrath at my son's house.

Their house faired pretty well until the town's sewage equipment failed sending raw sewage into their home.

Insurance has refused to pay for damages...TWICE!

It was September 29. Hurricane Ian’s 145 mph winds were “supposed to” travel up Florida’s west coast and make landfall near Tampa.

It didn’t.

Ian decided to take a right-hand turn early and with full force, slammed into Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

Expecting the impact of the storm to come ashore further north, and with no evacuation order for their part of town, my son and his family of five weathered the brunt of the storm inside their home in Englewood Florida.

My son, Ryan Phelan, his wife Tiffany, and their 3 kids, Ben (17), Cameron (13), Penny (9), and their two dogs huddled in a closet as they listened to the howling wind, debris hitting their house, the huge mango tree in the back yard creaking, cracking, splitting.

After experiencing many hours of Ian’s wrath, the eye of the storm enveloped them, (no more wind, eerie quiet, rain ceasing), so Ryan and family ventured outside to find all their trees uprooted. Plus, mango branches had crashed on top of and through their backyard shed and crumbed Penny’s wooden fort, slide, and swing set that her Grandpa had built last summer.

The house itself was in pretty good shape, though. Some siding and soffit were blown off. Some shingles and the roof ridge were missing. Their neighbors’ homes had faired much worse than theirs.

They thanked God for sparing their home and their lives.

Then the eye passed. The wind raged again. The black sky and lightning and pelting, sideways rain returned.

A few hours later, it was finally over. They HAD survived and their home was still standing!

For a day, the Phelan family thought they had lucked out!

But, because Hurricane Ian destroyed/damaged Englewood’s sewage processing equipment and generators, citizens were warned about probable sewage backup.

It happened…

Sewage began backing up into their sinks and bathtubs and toilets. Fecal excrement. Dark smelly sewage water. And it kept coming. Towels and rags soon did not contain the foul-smelling invasion. It started running onto bedroom and living room rugs.

Gagging on the smell and fearing breathing contaminants, they grabbed what they could and the family escaped.

Between Ian’s winds and sewage, their family home is now destroyed.

Even though they thought their home and property were fully insured, their insurance company says replacement and repair are not covered.

Sewage damage is a separately required rider that they don’t have, they were told.

Nope, not covered.

Sewage damage is not covered.

Ryan and Tiffany had to abandon their home. They left everything except some clothes, a few toys, and a few small prized possessions that fit in their car.

Since then, black mold has been growing in their home. Pretty much everything is ruined.

The “water remediation” companies, who REMOVE contaminated drywall, floors, woodwork, and anything affected by the sewage, will not begin work until they receive a deposit of one-half the full cost. That is $15,000 which Ryan and Tiffany could handle, but the other $15,000 is not readily available.

They just found a rental in Englewood and will move there on November 1 so the kids can get back to school.

Right now, they just want to get back into their house.

Removing and replacing the contaminated flooring, moldy sheetrock, two bathrooms’ and kitchen fixtures will cost about $55,000 and that’s what they are asking for.

They can live with open stud walls, free of moldy drywall. They can live without carpet over the concrete slab floor.

Eventually, all that will be back to normal. They know God won’t give them more than they can handle.

Ian was an act of God. Fighting the insurance company is a human challenge and will take time.

Please help this hard-working family begin the recovery process from their devastating loss. Almost all of their belongings are ruined by the sewage. All flooring, cabinets, furniture, and drywall are contaminated and unusable.

Right now, they just need help getting rid of the sewage-damaged flooring, drywall, and bathroom and kitchen cabinets, and replacing the bare minimum.

Right now, they just want to get back in their house.

$55,000 will do that.

The funds raised will go directly to my son and his wife, Ryan and Tiffany Phelan, for water mitigation (which is the removal of contaminated items, drywall, flooring, cabinets, and furniture), replacement of bathroom cabinets, kitchen cabinets, and hopefully a stove and dishwasher. they just need the basics to make the home safe to live in. They just want to get back in their house.

Thank you for helping.

God bless you.