When people think of FEMA they think of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and their slow response. This is a bad rap that may have been warranted then but FEMA has made huge strides since then with speedy service and good organization.
In the wake of Hurricane Ike the storm and aftermath ravaged much of the country in devastating effects. The rain that poured down in conjunction with normal rain had caused serious flooding throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Retention couldn’t keep up in some areas and sewer backup became a problem. A state of emergency was declared for Cook, Du Page, and other area counties.
The Elgin area was reported to be hit the hardest. That is the area in which I live in the Village of Bartlett where I bought a house with my fiancé a month and a half before the floods. The home we choose to start our life together, in the town she grew up in. We just completed turning that house into a home when the floods hit.
Bartlett was reported to have three days of heavy rain for totals estimated over nine inches. I was on the outskirts of the worst hit area and received damage from sewer backup through the drains and of course insurance doesn’t cover that. Two levels of my four levels, split-level home received about two inches of water. Other homes in the area reported six to 10 inches of water.
So after purchasing a house and doing painting, cleaning, and repairs to make the pre-foreclosure home livable, a week after the big housewarming party, the house was flooded, with much of the furniture, floors and walls ruined.
There were many upset residences that voiced concern over the village’s lack of response. I have to agree with them. The response on the island that my home sat on that was created by the floodwater seemed nonexistent. I am still having issues with disposing of flood damaged items that are now growing mold and am working with village employees for a solution to get these items disposed of properly.
Just because I did not see village employees fixing the problem does not mean that they were not in full force trying to patch whatever they could to keep this act of nature from getting worse. Some people think appearances are everything but it’s what you don’t see that typically makes the biggest difference.
A type of witch hunt ensued at the following village hall meeting as I read about in the local newspaper, the Bartlett Examiner. Fortunately for village officials the torches, pitchforks, and clubs must have been destroyed by the floods. Understanding that people turn to anger after hopelessness I predicted this. Not that I wasn’t angry with the village response, but once the initial clean up was completed I turned my anger into acceptance of an act of God. I still have plans to talk with village officials about my problems and hope to work with them to find real solutions so such problems won’t affect the municipality in the future. I don’t want a rant and rave session fueled by anger.
There was a wait of a few weeks, in this time came the declaration of a state of emergency and a wait to see if there would be federal funds available after Hurricane Ike hit Texas. Once a state of emergency was established and funds were going to be made available it was up to the individual to file a FEMA application.
This is where things get really good. The day after filing the FEMA application we received a phone call from a FEMA representative to schedule an assessment of damage for the next day. The FEMA representative said, “You can expect a response for aid in the mail or by direct deposit in five days.” Five days later there was grant money direct deposited to the checking account we gave them. In this time there was also a Columbus Day holiday that could have held things up for a day, but FEMA held true to the five day statement.
It is easy to criticize and patronize organizations like FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. People find it difficult to praise a job well done and the hard work that goes into fixing a broken system. But, I have to say this to FEMA. Job well done, pat yourselves on the back for me, and most importantly, thank you. The work and aid that you have done will allow me to turn my disaster area back into a home a lot sooner then I could have done without you.
My father used to tell me something that his father used to tell him. “You learn something new everyday.” This experience I learned a whole lot in a day. I learned something broken in government can be fixed, and if you trust and work with them you can make a better world for the future instead of dwelling on past mistakes.
The most important thing I learned is ‘I lost a lot, but that is because I have a lot to lose.’ I now thank God for all I lost in this situation because if I didn’t have it to begin with, I couldn’t have had it to lose and the most important things in life such as love and family grew stronger because of it.
The funny thing is the people we blame for most of what is wrong in our life is our parents. I also found out that they are to be thanked for everything you have that is strong enough to withstand a natural disaster such as this. So, thanks Mom and Dad.
The truth is we were all really lucky. When looking at past flooding images of homes being uprooted from their foundations, and floating down a river, to be stuck on a bridge you really have to think about how lucky we are to live in a country like the U.S.A.
This is a country with organizations like FEMA that are there to help people get their lives back to where they used to be when insurance companies won’t. Sure we have our problems but we also have a lot of blessings that we tend to forget about.
This is my story I might have not had the worst situation and someone might try to trump me on how bad they had it. But this is my story, it belongs to me, and I hope that someone who has had it worse can walk away with the same perspective I’ve had.