Earthquake

[MollyWoppy]

Part of our roof collapsed over the kitchen :(. That section was always a bit leaky (just no money to fix it) so I was worried about it. The rest of the roof seems OK and we're just trying to patch it up best we can and prevent water from getting everywhere. It's been storming for a while but the real hurricane isn't even here yet :(.

The scary thing is that it fell literally inches from my face. I walked in the kitchen to do the dishes, heard a loud noise, and jumped back as it came crashing down. But everyone is OK, including the pets. The cavies actually live in the kitchen but we had moved them a few hours before.

We still have power (obviously, haha) and our neighbors do too. Hopefully the hurricane part won't be too bad, we're not in the eye or anything.

Oh hell. I really hope you have insurance, thats the main thing. No, I take that back big time. The main thing is that no-one was hurt, nothing is more important than that. When part of our roof fell in, I was quite suprised at the weight of it, for some reason I just thought drywall and a few bits of wood wouldn't be that much of a deal, but it seriously would kill you if you were under it.
Try to remember this - it may seem the last thing on your mind right now, but once you get over the shock a bit,there is good that comes out of it, like a nice new kitchen. I can vouch for that as I call our place the house that Charley built. Oh boy, I feel for you. Been there, done that, gives me the horror's. Never, ever, ever want to go through that again. Please look after yourselves and be safe.

[chowder]

Part of our roof collapsed over the kitchen :(. That section was always a bit leaky (just no money to fix it) so I was worried about it. The rest of the roof seems OK and we're just trying to patch it up best we can and prevent water from getting everywhere. It's been storming for a while but the real hurricane isn't even here yet :(.

The scary thing is that it fell literally inches from my face. I walked in the kitchen to do the dishes, heard a loud noise, and jumped back as it came crashing down. But everyone is OK, including the pets. The cavies actually live in the kitchen but we had moved them a few hours before.

We still have power (obviously, haha) and our neighbors do too. Hopefully the hurricane part won't be too bad, we're not in the eye or anything.

We'll all be thinking of you all day today! I really hope the rest of your house fairs better and you stay safe. We've got the weather channel on 24/7 here.

It's so amazing to walk outside when it's all over. I walked the dogs today and it's hot and sunny like nothing had ever happened......except there are branches and leaves down everywhere and water filling up the ditches!

[swolek]

We do have insurance but have never used it. I hope they cover it :(. The rest of the roof held although another spot is now a bit leaky so I think we need a whole new roof.

We didn't lose power, luckily (we're in an area that's usually lucky with that), but our basement flooded. The sump pump couldn't keep up with the amount of water. My dad came over and helped, he brought some other pump and it's working.

It was a weird night. And early this morning I got up (to dump out the pots catching leaks) and saw a shadow on the bathroom window. It was a hummingbird holding onto a branch against the window for dear life. Poor thing. I don't usually see those, it must have been displaced from its home.

Most of the surrounding towns and cities flooded but our general area is OK (the neighborhood, that is). We have some weird lakes around, though, ha. The flooding was worse than people around here expected, a lot of people didn't take this storm seriously since we weren't going to be in the eye.

[MollyWoppy]

Thanks for the update, so glad to hear everyone is ok.
Take a lot of pictures, especially of the damage. And if you get tarps and stuff, keep the receipts for absolutely everything, every nail, every bit of tape to show the insurance co. Keep a record of your hours, some insurance companies may reward you for time you've spent mitigating damage.
Good luck with your insurance company too, they should cover your roof, they did ours and everyone else's for 10miles round here, it didn't make any difference if they were brand new or as old as hell. Hang in there!

[stajbs]

Wow, sorry to hear about your kitchen and thank goodness you were not hurt Swolek.
We just got power back about an hour ago..a small amount of siding damage, and the dreaded 18+ hour dreaded power outage and dreaded flushing issues!! Trees down on lines etc., but all in all not too bad. I am feeling we were lucky as I finally catch the news about what happened north of us. Childish to say but glad to be back online too!! lol

[swolek]

Thanks guys. We're calling the insurance company tomorrow. It sucks not having a kitchen for now but I'm so glad no one was hurt. It could have been so much worse and the kitchen was probably one of the "better" places to have it collapse.

Looking at some of the damage in nearby towns, we got off somewhat lucky. Areas not even 10 minutes away were completely flooded. People were being rescued with boats! I was watching the news and it turns out that this area actually fared worse than NYC when the opposite was expected. It's bizarre to see places I've been now underwater. My college flooded but they said there was no structural damage so I think classes will go on. This just isn't something that happens around here. Usually only places right next to the river (I'm in the lower Hudson Valley) flood. The Ulster County SPCA evacuated so I'm going to call to see what they need.