pjlippert
Cathlete
Three years and one day ago- August 7th, 2007 we got hit with one of the BIGGEST most TORRENTIAL downpours in Monument, CO history. Our house happened to get the brunt of the surrounding properties runoff as well as the clogging of our drainage system.
At first it was a "cute" little waterfall streaming gently down into the window-well. That waterfall quickly became anything but cute. The window-well quickly began to fill up and torrents of water rushed across our property down towards the basement. Ultimately the windows burst from the pressure of the water and a river of muddy, pine-needle and debris filled sludge came pouring relentlessly into our already finished basement!!!
I had to call 911 because the sound of the electrical outlets making the zzzzzz sound was too much to handle. A full 18 to 24 inches of water had overtaken our playroom, guestoom, utility room, bathroom and office. Furniture, toys, papers, memorabilia was floating around it the muddy water. The Fire Department arrived and had to remove the toilet in the bathroom since the sump-pump was not capable of processing the thousands and thousands of gallons of water flooding in.
I have NEVER felt soooo incredibly helpless in my life!!!!! My son and I went around knocking at neighbors doors in the torrential rain begging for help. Not only did the people know come but people we hadn't yet met came to our rescue. I guess the blessing out of this was that all sorts of neighbors began to show up to help get things out of the saturated basement. These men and women of our small community came to our rescue. 911 helped to expedite Noah's Restoration to get out here as their first priority. As other neighbors had some water - the 911 team said that they had NEVER seen anything like this before!!!
We still have flashbacks of that terrifying and still surreal night - watching in absolute horror as our belongings floated around in the muddy, mucky water. (I wondered what the Hurricane Katrina victims must have felt like) Then the piles and piles of what was now trash being tossed onto the drive-way, the carpet being ripped up and hauled out, what was left of the furniture and belongings being accumulated onto the soaked drive-way.
I am NOT the type of person who faints or goes into shock. But my friends who were there said they saw the look of someone who had just been asaulted and beat and who had seen a ghost- MANY ghosts in this case with our memories being washed away.
Many incredible things came out of that situation. My Dad's instruments had survived without a drop of water on them, photos that surely should have been lost, miraculously barely missed by the water. Somehow our waterheater didn't die, the infamous "Leg Lamp" and other Christmas memories were not harmed. CLEARLY Angels were there helping silently.
My darling son still worries this time of year (monsoon/storm season) as he remembers as a four year old watching his beloved toys floating in the water. My girlfriends came to the resce and brought their children to play with Randy UP in his room on the third floor. Some brought wine, some brought food, mostly they just sat with me as I stared into the abyss in a state of TOTAL shock.
Just this evening, the same sort of rain started... and thankfully has stopped (so far). Since that nightmare, we have made changes to the landscaping to help avoid any future occurances. We had loving families from the church come and help us re-build our property in a much more protective manner.
In the rebuilding process, it was as if God was speaking to us. Much to our surprise, the previous owners had inscribed the 10 commandments on some of the stones - which had been turned over. We have to this day only found 6 of the 10.
You may be wondering how much the insurance company paid for all of this. The answer is ZERO!!!!! We had to shell out no less than $20,000 to refinish our finished basement.
The reason they didn't pay anything -despite us having flood insurance - even though we don't live on a flood plane..... Had a rock or branch other "natural element" broken our window, it would have been covered. BUT because the window-well backed up and the water pressure broke the glass allowing the water to flood in, it was considered a bona-fide act of God and therefore NOT covered.
NO, we did not sue our neighbors as they had suffered SOME as well, plus there was no way to tell precisely which property contributed- since the four surrounding properties all ran-off into our yard.
So, as this creepy time of year is upon us, I ask you to pray for a shield of protection over us, our property and our belongings..
Thank you for listening.
Pam
At first it was a "cute" little waterfall streaming gently down into the window-well. That waterfall quickly became anything but cute. The window-well quickly began to fill up and torrents of water rushed across our property down towards the basement. Ultimately the windows burst from the pressure of the water and a river of muddy, pine-needle and debris filled sludge came pouring relentlessly into our already finished basement!!!
I had to call 911 because the sound of the electrical outlets making the zzzzzz sound was too much to handle. A full 18 to 24 inches of water had overtaken our playroom, guestoom, utility room, bathroom and office. Furniture, toys, papers, memorabilia was floating around it the muddy water. The Fire Department arrived and had to remove the toilet in the bathroom since the sump-pump was not capable of processing the thousands and thousands of gallons of water flooding in.
I have NEVER felt soooo incredibly helpless in my life!!!!! My son and I went around knocking at neighbors doors in the torrential rain begging for help. Not only did the people know come but people we hadn't yet met came to our rescue. I guess the blessing out of this was that all sorts of neighbors began to show up to help get things out of the saturated basement. These men and women of our small community came to our rescue. 911 helped to expedite Noah's Restoration to get out here as their first priority. As other neighbors had some water - the 911 team said that they had NEVER seen anything like this before!!!
We still have flashbacks of that terrifying and still surreal night - watching in absolute horror as our belongings floated around in the muddy, mucky water. (I wondered what the Hurricane Katrina victims must have felt like) Then the piles and piles of what was now trash being tossed onto the drive-way, the carpet being ripped up and hauled out, what was left of the furniture and belongings being accumulated onto the soaked drive-way.
I am NOT the type of person who faints or goes into shock. But my friends who were there said they saw the look of someone who had just been asaulted and beat and who had seen a ghost- MANY ghosts in this case with our memories being washed away.
Many incredible things came out of that situation. My Dad's instruments had survived without a drop of water on them, photos that surely should have been lost, miraculously barely missed by the water. Somehow our waterheater didn't die, the infamous "Leg Lamp" and other Christmas memories were not harmed. CLEARLY Angels were there helping silently.
My darling son still worries this time of year (monsoon/storm season) as he remembers as a four year old watching his beloved toys floating in the water. My girlfriends came to the resce and brought their children to play with Randy UP in his room on the third floor. Some brought wine, some brought food, mostly they just sat with me as I stared into the abyss in a state of TOTAL shock.
Just this evening, the same sort of rain started... and thankfully has stopped (so far). Since that nightmare, we have made changes to the landscaping to help avoid any future occurances. We had loving families from the church come and help us re-build our property in a much more protective manner.
In the rebuilding process, it was as if God was speaking to us. Much to our surprise, the previous owners had inscribed the 10 commandments on some of the stones - which had been turned over. We have to this day only found 6 of the 10.
You may be wondering how much the insurance company paid for all of this. The answer is ZERO!!!!! We had to shell out no less than $20,000 to refinish our finished basement.
The reason they didn't pay anything -despite us having flood insurance - even though we don't live on a flood plane..... Had a rock or branch other "natural element" broken our window, it would have been covered. BUT because the window-well backed up and the water pressure broke the glass allowing the water to flood in, it was considered a bona-fide act of God and therefore NOT covered.
NO, we did not sue our neighbors as they had suffered SOME as well, plus there was no way to tell precisely which property contributed- since the four surrounding properties all ran-off into our yard.
So, as this creepy time of year is upon us, I ask you to pray for a shield of protection over us, our property and our belongings..
Thank you for listening.
Pam
