Our Analyst’s story

August 4th 2023. I was on my way home from a business trip. It was a chilly summer day, and the rain seemed relentless. As I neared home, things got worse. Roads turned into torrents, leaving me searching for an alternate path just to get home. The streets had transformed into wild rivers! I had to go through a hill and a forest to reach my neighborhood. From there, I looked down and saw the unimaginable. Houses turned into islands, and a new raging river had taken over. With an unforgettable awful smell, carrying a mix of filth, feces, oil, and people’s belongings. It was like a scene from a horror film.
I could only watch helplessly as the water wreaked havoc on everything I knew. Hours later, as the water receded, I finally reached my apartment. The sight was heart-wrenching. My place was ruined, and my belongings were gone. My car had been tossed aside, a wreck in the chaos. Fences were nowhere to be seen; it was all a vast, muddy field.
My apartment was on the ground floor, now lost to the flood, but I found refuge upstairs. The relentless rain kept us on edge, fearing the water might rise again. Firefighters and volunteers rushed in, pumping water, placing sandbags—heroes in our time of need. The night was a nightmare, worrying about what was lost and what more could be lost if the rain persisted. Sleep came fitfully, as we checked water levels and felt even more vulnerable because of the fallen doors.
Daybreak brought a chance to rebuild. The flood washed away differences between neighbors, uniting us. Thank you to the firefighters, the army, and every volunteer! You became our friends, our helping hands when we needed them most.
Our area remained like a warzone and we worked day and night to make a difference. Yet, a long road remains ahead. Insurance let us all down, and our future is in our hands. Our homes will dry, and we’ll rebuild and clean, erasing the bad smell of the flood. But the fear of another deluge remains, especially as we brace for the next wave in the fall.