The (Not So) Great Milwaukee Flood of 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 6:49PM At first it didn't look so bad.
Sure, our neighbor stopped us before we got in the door and told us firefighters were looking for us during the storm to evacuate our house. We heard her say water was up to our windows. Yes, we saw random debris scattered in our lawn and weeds and mud caking our outer walls.
It wasn't registering.
When we first opened the door, we could live in denial for a few seconds longer. Maybe just a trickle of water snuck in. Nothing a few rags can't clean up.
Then I stepped on the hallway carpet.
SQUISH.
I walked into the living room.
SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH.
I walked over to the bedroom.
SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH.
I ran to the baby's room.
SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH.
When you stepped down, water welled up over your feet. Not a good sign, right?
We had been stranded at my wife Jess's parents the night before when the weather started to get apocalyptic. Rain turned streets into rapids. Funnel clouds touched down. Freeways closed. A sinkhole swallowed an Escalade.
Meanwhile, this is what was happening to our neighborhood:
Since it was taking hours for people to navigate a few treacherous miles, we decided to spend the night at Jess's parents. Before we went to bed around midnight, Jim, who lives a few blocks away, checked on our house for us once the water receded. He told us it looked like the water had reached a few feet above the base of the door. We had no clue what that might mean when we walked in our door early Friday morning.
We have no basement, so instead a river of water came steaming into our living space. It still didn't sink in right away as Jess and I immediately got to work. I grabbed the Shop Vac and started sucking up water from the carpets while Jess took photos of the damage and put rags down around the house.
It quickly became evident that trying to save the carpet was beyond pointless. A snap decision was made, and we started tearing up the soaking wet carpet.
When the first corner was pulled up, we realized we had been staring at the tip of the iceberg. The mats and floors underneath held puddles of standing water. I got splashed every time I yanked up one of the mats.
Here are more photos of the damge.
Our hallway, post-carpet
I don't know when the enormity of the situation started to hit us. Maybe after Jess's third call to the insurance that told her flat out that they wouldn't do a thing. Maybe when I looked at the furniture and everything covering the carpet and wondered how I was going to do this alone. I could feel the panic rising, and I tried to head it off by putting my head down and working harder.
Then I walked into Clara's room, and completely lost control. It was our baby's room, that Jess had worked months to make perfect. She was just 12 weeks old, and her room was ruined. It wasn't fair. I just wanted to hug my daughter, who was safe at her grandparents.
At the same time, I knew I couldn't just give up. We had no choice. Clara was counting on us. I got back to work.
I don't have the most experience removing carpet - much less sopping wet carpet - so I probably didn't handle this as efficiently as I could. I manically disassembled and moved all the furniture, and then tried to remove the entire living room carpet in one piece while Jess cleaned up the aftermath. In retrospect, not the smartest idea.
After a rugburn on my entire arm and a few strained muscles later, I finally had the whole thing out the door. I can't think of a strength training exercise I'm more proud of.
But we were only getting started.
Exhausted, demoralized, starving and overwhelmed, we were both at our emotional and physical low point.
That's exactly when my dad's old friend Jim Vivian walk into our yard. I hadn't seen him in years, and I was stunned to see him. And I immediately started blubbering. I'm tearing up just writing this.
Jim had heard from my parents that we were in trouble, and he drove straight to our house. His arrival was more than just a second wind. It was a lifesaver.
It not only meant that we weren't alone anymore. Since Jim is a firefighter, it meant there was someone on the scene actually knew what he was doing around the house. He devised a plan of attack, and I was overjoyed to follow orders.
Shortly after that people who saw my Twitter messages just showed up at my doorstep, ready to help. My co-worker Matt left work and showed up in old clothes, followed by Steve and Matt. I've never been happier to see visitors.
They did not do easy work. I'll never forget Matt ripping up our wooden dining room floorboards, or Steve drenched in sweat while chipping away at our linoleum kitchen floor, or Matt helping our neighbor get his soaked couch out of his basement.
Reinforcements continued to arrive. My father-in-law showed up after work and started cleaning and packing. My parents arrived after a long day that involved a car breakdown, and brought dehumidifiers and a cooler of food. My co-worker Andy brought fans, and my co-worker Becky came by to check on us and offer help. Every message of support made us feel like we could do this.
Finally, after a 15-hour day of gutting our home, there wasn't much more we could do.
The dining room
We found out later that our area had been one of the hardest hit in the entire area. Here's an excerpt from a local Trustee's blog Village Spillage, talking about our block:
I've toured around WFB, and it's pretty clear, the closer to Shorewood (and their combined sewers) you were, the worse the damage .. while the entire village was hit hard, the the 4700 blocks, east to west are the hardest hit. Admittedly, I'm not expert enough to understand the sewer topography. The biggest culprit is Mother Nature herself, dumping 11 inches of rain upon us.
So what's next? Honestly, I have no clue. I have no roadmap for navigating the aftermath of a disaster. Throughout this Jess has been amazing, constantly on the phone with contractors, government officials, and anyone who might be able to help. My father-in-law and brother-in-law worked their asses off the whole weekend, pulling up damaged wood and disinfecting the whole house.
Throughout all this, the outpouring of support has been overwhelming, especially the Milwaukee community on Twitter. It's astounding. Some I didn't even know 6 months or a year ago, and now they're losing sleep figuring out ways to help us. It gives me so much hope. And when I'm feeling down, just thinking about the support of others picks me up.
Two in particular -- the amazing, amazing Sue and Katie -- are plotting a fundraiser to help us get our house back to liveable conditions. We don't know what it will all entail yet, but stay tuned.
Today we had our first contractor visit, and the total estimate is still not in. But from his initial estimates, we'll probably need a new roof, windows, floorboards and doors, in addition to all new floors. He also said he wouldn't even start work for 6-8 weeks to allow the house to completely dry and avoid mold. We'll be living with my in-laws indefinitely, and thank God for them.
One piece of good news is because our house is so old, the foundation seems to be sloped inward. That means the water pooled inward, and saved all of our furniture on the peripheral areas. And yes, every last one of our t-shirts was kept high and dry and perfectly safe.
Even if I don't know what will happen next, I know one thing for sure. So let me say this loud and clear:
TEECYCLE IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
UPDATE
As I write this, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is blaring out of a speaker. As long as it doesn't stop abruptly and cut to black, I think that's a good sign, and not just because it was our wedding dance finale.
I can't thank you all enough for your support. Completely overwhelming, and there goes my own waterworks again. So many of you have asked how you can help. There's still not much we can do at this point but collect contractor quotes before we plan the fundraiser.
But you can keep sharing this story on Facebook, Twitter, email, smoke signals or whatever works for you.
The shirts are selling fast and we're taking the sold ones down ASAP. It's hard to post new (used) ones right now, but we also have 6-month and 1-yr tshirt subscriptions for sale at http://bit.ly/subscriptees
Some have also asked about donating directly, you can now do it here:
But if you're going to help I'd like to at least get you a cool shirt to wear. :)
Thank you thank you thank you friends, and don't stop believing.
Reader Comments (30)
OMG, Tim. This is awful. I'm glad everyone and everything - for the most part - is OK. If anyone can survive it, it's you two. Well, three, actually. ;-) Keep on keepin' on.
Tim, I'm so sorry! I somehow missed your tweets about this. That is just heartbreaking. But what an amazing story of a community coming together. Best of luck as you rebuild.
That's CRAZINESS! Well... The best times to practice being "zen" are the worst times to practice being "zen"... Or something like that. :P If there's anything I can do to help don't hesitate to make a request. I'd gladly pimp out the Teecycle subscription service in some sort of crazy MTK styled fashion. :) Or maybe some other fundrasing effort done in some sort of crazy MTK styled fashion. As long as there's some crazy in it sign me up. :D
i had a house fire in 2007, and while that was pretty clearly a done deal (house was demolished) i totally understand the utter lack of what on earth you're supposed to do. it was winter, and caused by an improperly installed fireplace. we sifted through our things deciding what to keep (washing smoke damaged clothes 17 times to get rid of the smell, SEVENTEEN!!) in negative 11 degree weather. i am so sorry for you, i hope the red cross is helping you, they were life savers for us.
I can partially share the feelings you both had seeing the damages done to your home. Aga and I got hit again last Thursday in our basement from the sewer drain, the same thing happened 3 years ago and we could do nothing to stop it. Finished basement ruined, items damaged, and the hopelessness of not being able to do anything to stop it.. It's just wrong. The worst part is the insurance company not covering jack. They are pretty useless, which is sad.
The good thing is that you, Jess and the baby are safe. As soon as the city gets the application set for FEMA aid, jump on it. They helped us last time with the costs of the damages, it was not significant, but worth the time to fill out the info and have them help. We got some grant money to help cover damages, but also a very low interest loan to repair house damages. These were better than paying out of pocket at the time.
Hang in there, don't let this event drag you down, and keep pushing forward.
It made me cry because two years ago my basement flooded and I was overwhelmed, I know how hard it is to not know where to start and friends stepped in and cut carpeting and helped and helped me. I got flooded again but was more prepared this time and it was only rain water. My heart goes out to you and your family.
Man, this is just awful, Tim! I knew you got hit hard, but this put into perspective exactly how bad. Let me know if you need any muscle in the future - I don't have much, but am willing to lend you what I do have.
What is the story with the insurance? You seemed to imply that the insurance company won't pay for your damages.
Tim & Jess:
The two of you bring smiles to so many faces, it's our turn to bring those smiles for you to wear. Thank you for allowing me to help spearhead an awesome sauce fundraiser for you. :-)
Katie
Tim, as with the others, let me know if I can do anything to help... Good luck will only get you so far, so lean on your friends if you have to, we don't mind. :)
My heart aches for you and Jess. I hated that we were gone last weekend and couldn't help anyone out. If you need any future help please let me know and I'll do my best to be there. I've had water damage in the past, but nothing compared to this.
If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know! Can't even imagine what you guys are going through. Hang in there!
Tim & Jess,
Love that you are continuing on and not letting this tragedy slow your resolve, it will all work out in the end and you have a lot of support from the Twitter Community. I shall look through my shirts and see what I can all bring and donate to Teecycle its the least I can do.
Tim & Family
Nothing ever prepares you from something like this. It may not feel like it now, but you will be a stronger man... a stronger family because of this terrible event.
Let me know how I can help. Just say the word.
Prayers & thoughts...
Chad
P.S. Someday, years from now, this will be a great story to tell your grand kids. :)
I'm truly sorry to read about everything that happened. It is super-encouraging to hear about the support you've received with your house, and I'm sure that it will continue to flow.
Oh, and I love this pic (well, mostly the caption): http://www.flickr.com/photos/cig/4820797551/
Praying for you guys,
~eric
Hi Tim!
I am so sorry to hear this! My family's house in DeKalb, IL has flooded my whole life so I can relate on how helpless flooding can be, but yet can't begin to understand what you guys are going through. :( Please let me know what we can do. I am praying for you!!
Kristin and Jon
What Katie said, exactly. It breaks my heart to read about Clara's room : ( that is sooooooooo wrong and must be fixed at once. I am honored to do all I can to help. Good things coming!!!
What a mess. :-( I've been flooded before, so I understand the "where do I start" sentiment. Anything I can do to help, just ask!
Jeff
SO sorry to hear about your home. I only got stuck DRIVING in that mess. Thankfully we're far enough north that we're surrounded by fields that soaked up the water. So sad about your baby's room. :'(
Dude. Beer is on me when I see you.
Thinking about you guys!
Tim and Jess,
I am so sorry to hear about what happened. I didn't realize how bad it was until I read the about article and looked at the pictures. You are in our prayers.
I can't wait for our block to be back to its old self.
Just having a newborn is hard enough without all this.
We've been feeling so low with our own challenges. . . throwing out things that represent so much time and money, but we have our main living space and I know we can't begin to understand.
Hang in there!!!
If I didn't need funds to survive, I'd hand them all to you. I'm glad everyone is safe, alive and that Teecycle with live on. I've told many, many people about this, and I hope someone I know (other than me) decides to contribute.
The video was taken right around the corner of where we live. I still can't believe we didn't have any water. Tim - If there is anything you need, let me know. I have baby clothes, spare crib, tupperware, etc. I know our community will band together - and we'll probably meet some new people in the process. Hang tight, you're in our thoughts!