Starting over after Hurricane Idalia flooding

Starting over after Hurricane Idalia flooding

Hi everyone - my name is Laura. I’m here to ask for some help for my brother, his wife, and their two amazing kids. They do not know I put this together, as this family never asks for or accepts help. This is well out of the norm, but this challenge is one they can’t fight alone.

On Wednesday August 30th, Hurricane Idalia passed Pinellas County ~120 miles off shore. While much of the area was spared, Shore Acres neighborhood in St Petersburg was devastated by storm surge flood water. The streets had up to 6ft of water in some areas. My brother, Scott Tennant, and his family were renting a house a few streets in from the water. Luckily they had evacuated and are safe, but their home flooded with all of their belongings inside. On Wednesday evening, they kayaked into their neighborhood to asses the damage as the water had not yet subsided enough to drive in. Their house had 1-2 ft of water throughout every room. Their landlord will be able to fix the house with insurance, but that may take months to become livable again. As renters, they lost everything inside - renters insurance does not cover any flooding from hurricanes. They submitted a request to FEMA but were denied already because Pinellas County was not in the Hurricane disaster declaration. While it is likely Pinellas will be added to the disaster declaration at some point, we are being told that the assistance for renters is minimal and certainly not enough to get them back on their feet. Their home is not livable, so they will be staying with family for a few weeks until they can find a new place to live and furniture to use. To make matters worse, Scott and Jen recently left their careers and spent the last year building a small business. They managed to save most of their equipment but their workshop was also flooded and extensive repairs are needed, so their incomes are at a standstill until they find a new location to work from.

Please consider helping to get them back on their feet - all donations will go to Scott, Jen, Logan, and Emma to help with a place to live and furniture to rebuild.

Thank you!!!