My heart sinks every time I hear about the storm ravaged areas of the south. My daughter and I drove along I-81 through Virginia as we came back from Washington, D.C. Residual storm damage surrounded us. It was an incredible sight that neither the photograph below nor any other can accurately capture.
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| I took this photo in VA. Please don't forget them. |
Even today, I hear stories of people who are still living in FEMA trailers in Katrina areas and pray that no further natural disaster hits the U.S. for awhile.
We had a small flood in our home when we lived in North Carolina. Parts of our basement easily had six inches of water. That's as close to nothing as it gets where flooding is concerned. Yes, it was a problem and an inconvenience. Yes, a few things of ours were damaged. Compare that problem to others and it's practically a cake walk!
The main issue with our tiny disaster was in deciding how to clean up. After you get the water out where do you start? Is it best to begin with floor, upholstered furniture or to get the mud from the bottom of the appliances?
A friend of mine used to live in Texas and was able to give us some helpful advice. She told us to carry the furniture into the sunshine and move the (now empty) appliances out there too. Fortunately the couch wasn't in the mud area too much. The kids were able to shop vac a lot of the water and dirt from the couch that the outdoor heat and sun couldn't reach.
Then, we could turn ourselves to the real problem. That was the wood floor water damage repair. Austin, Texas had some flood issues several years ago. My friend was able to make some suggestions that helped.
Cleaning up this tiny mess was frustrating but not life altering. Friends pitched in to make it go more smoothly. People in these storm ravaged areas need friends that they can count on.
I hope that we never have to go through severe damage that other parts of the South are facing and pray often for short term and long term recovery. UMCOR has my donation. I hope that everyone can find some way to help financially or physically. Every little bit that we can do adds up.
If it's ever needed this link can help with fire damage:
~~Many thanks to The Steam Team for sponsoring this blog post.~~