The flooding in Cedar Rapids is no laughing matter, especially for our best troupe member, Dave Atwater (aka Agent Danuuc). We had received word from Danuuc that it didn’t look good late last week, but now that Dave and Heather have seen the damage, we have proof positive that flooding around Bowling Street and Czech Village is serious business.
We received this email from Dave and Heather today. Unfortunately, they don’t have flood insurance and Comics In Action lost all of their PA equipment:
We were finally granted access, but it wasn’t easy to return to our home on Tuesday, June 17. It’s been a little less than a week and the mold and mildew smell in the house was overwhelming. So much of what we had worked for and all the effort in making this house our home was destroyed beyond recovery. The flood waters had risen from the basement into about the first 12-18 inches of the first floor. Most of the furniture on the first floor was not salvageable and had to be put on the curb for garbage pick-up. It was like trash amnesty day gone wild in our neighborhood. We also ripped up all the carpeting on that floor, which was still completely soaked. Hardwood oak flooring was underneath. We started removing some clothes we thought could be saved, and some family members were gracious enough to take them home to try and wash out the damage. Unfortunately, most of Dave’s clothes were located in the basement.
We haven’t been able to start removing anything from the basement, however, since there is still a couple feet of water there. Our home theater area down there was completely destroyed. Everything is in shambles and things ended up on entirely different sides of the room. We had just finished the theater room in early 2006, so definitely not enough movies had been viewed yet. Last Thursday before we left, we used everything we had to move all the furniture and equipment in the basement at least 4 feet off the floor. Who knew the flooding would extend WAY beyond that! Our house is out of the flood plain so no flood insurance. The street flooded a block and a half beyond us.
At this point, we are waiting for both a FEMA and home insurance adjuster to inspect our home. Hopefully, these will both occur by the end of this week but these agencies are extremely busy, as you can imagine.
So many of you have asked how you can help. Right now, we are just SO overwhelmed with all the devastation and are trying to determine how to proceed. Obviously, the inspections need to occur first. We know areas of need will be identified as we go forward, and we’re hoping to communicate all of this via email updates so you can stay informed on our situation as the weeks and months go on. In the meantime, a small group is planning on aiding us in some initial cleanup this Thursday.
Living out of a suitcase will certainly not be easy for this extended period of time, but we’re taking things step by step, little by little, day by day. We know we still have each other AND all of your support to help carry us through this very difficult time. If you have any pointers or resources you think would be beneficial to us, please feel free to pass this information on.
Again, thanks for your care and support and we’ll try to post some photos for the next update.
Heather & Dave