What Peet says about the disaster (part3)

(Nederlandse vertaling: http://helpdevandijkjes.blogspot.com/2011/09/uit-het-relaas-van-peet-deel-3.html)

September 10:

Slowly, very slowly there appears some light at the end of the tunnel. We have electricity again in the motel, and warm water is working again.

In our house the warm water supply cannot be repaired. Not just because things got wet, but the whole heater fell over. So we’re doing the dishes and taking showers in the motel.

Room 7 was being renovated and we’re using it for storage. All the furniture will go in that room, and then we’ll see how the furniture has held up after everything has dried.

I was under the assumption that our floors were concrete, but they are not. They are wooden and therefore soaking wet.

Room 8 is now empty and can dry. Today we’re starting with room 9. We have quite a few permanent guests, and most of them aren’t even fazed by the water. They slept in our house this week, and they’re not planning to leave. Even though they got their feet wet. The floors in those rooms were sucked dry, but it’s never-ending -- keeps being wet.

The damage to the furniture is not as bad as I had feared, and some of it can certainly be saved. The damage to the building and grounds on the other hand, is very disappointing. Never thought that whole pieces of ground can simply disappear. Furniture you can buy in a store, but where do you go for ground?

There’s also damage on the bridge over the road. The state came to take a look, but I doubt if they can do much for us.

Of course I’ve talked to FEMA. That’s an emergency fund for natural disasters, also for people without insurance. We’re not the only ones without insurance for flooding, in fact, I haven’t talked to anybody who DOES have insurance. I can hear you say: well, that’s pretty stupid. Unfortunately, insurances are so expensive that it becomes unaffordable for most folks. Certainly for a combination of personal and commercial property. Just unaffordable – equivalent to a year of college.

Help is coming from all sides. Neighbours, residents… you name it. But also from very unexpected corners. This morning I got a call from Annemiek. A fellow-blogger who lives two hours from here. Don’t ask me why but I’ve never met here before. That’s changing because she’s coming here tomorrow to help out. Unbelievable… you don’t expect these things.

Also: yesterday GJ received $100 from someone who he met at the bank – somebody he doesn’t even know very well. GJ didn’t want to accept it but there was no way to say ‘no’, she insisted. She had driven by, and thought he could definitely use it.

And then the initiative by fellow-bloggers/readers/amerika forum… The response is incredible. I don’t really know how to deal with it… we do feel a little bit awkward. But it is so very well meant. And I’m not the type of person that easily accepts help. At the moment, I really have no choice. If I hear how much has been collected, I am really flabbergasted. Most of people we don’t even know personally! Even though they read a blog about us, we are still strangers to each other. And then this response… I just can’t believe it.

The costs of the repairs and renovations of the rooms and heating system are too high to pay at once. Waiting is not an option either, so the rooms in the motel have to be operational as soon as possible to generate income. I still have my mortgage to pay.

Our previous owner gave us a call yesterday. Even though there’s little he can do, just the fact that he gave a call is great. In times like these you learn again exactly who your friends are. Not that family can help much, but just the fact that they call, and that they tell us that things will be okay is terrific. Just to be able to tell your story.

Very slowly the neighborhood is getting back on its feet. Fewer roadblocks. The one in front of our house is still there. Yesterday there was still 3 feet of water on the road, and a stubborn neighbor wanted to get through it. Got stuck. Troopers came, a ticket, and the car had to be towed out…

I’m not the only one in trouble. At my friend’s, where we were sitting on the porch last Saturday, there is now water on the porch. Some told us this morning that his house is gone, simply flooded away. Children at school with Aleysha who had lost their home in 2006 and now again… Because 2006 was supposed to be a once-in-a-100-years flood. Unfortunately, this flood was even worse then in 2006.

Pictures on Peet’s blog: http://vandijkjes.punt.nl/?id=558560&r=1

Thank you, Guus, for your translation!