Interview:

1. How often do you worry about losing your home to a natural disaster?

T: Before these tornados I enjoyed storms and thought they were exciting but now that I’ve seen the devastation they are capable of, I can get pretty nervous.

NJ: Now each storm is a concern and I get scared, never used to before.

2. If you did lose your home to a natural disaster, do you have family or friends that could accommodate you? If yes, for how long?

T: Yes, I do. My sister and her family have a house behind us. So along with them and the camper in our backyard we had a place to live. I am very thankful to know that they would be there to do the same again.

NJ: Yes. Probably a month or two before it would become too hard with two pets.

3. Do you think a temporary house could ever feel like home?

T: I don’t think it could ever fully feel like home as it was before but if your family is there then in a way it can. The biggest thing is being able to get back into a rhythm that is comfortable to you.

NJ: No, a temporary house could ever feel like home. It wouldn’t be the same as before. It’s really hard when you’ve lost everything.

4. If you were to suddenly lose your house to a natural disaster, what 5 things could you not live without in everyday life? (Not including electricity or water)

T: One of the biggest things that need to be replaced in your life is structure. You also realize how much you rely on your family to help with anything you need. The rest are the basics which I was blessed to have i.e., food, shelter, and in our case with it being hot weather, A/C. I would have hated to be without them.

NJ: The loss of cell phone/internet use was very tough for two weeks. Gas for vehicles was a big issue, lines for six to eight hours with limit on amount of gas. Hot meals and milk were very tough to be without, and last but not least, cash. Cash was an impossible thing to get as no ATM’s or banks were opened for two weeks because they were without power and anywhere you could buy gas or milk were cash only as no credit or debit cards could be used because of no power.

5. What was it like losing your home?

T: We were lucky enough to not have had our home taken down to the foundation and only having one end destroyed because with our not having a basement the outcome for us could of been much different. Your home is your safe place. When it’s gone it’s just a funny feeling not being able to "go home" like before. It was scary.

NJ: I didn't lose my home but my family and friends lost their homes and there are no words to describe it. Years of memories from two to three generations gone washed away in the ocean destroyed from being wet, nothing salvageable, entire houses picked up off foundation to be condemned and needing to start all over.

6. Do you think temporary housing would have been beneficial? Would you have preferred single family? Or a group home?

T: Yes! I've seen people living in tents they bought at Wal-Mart because either they didn't have insurance or their insurance didn't help soon enough. Without family, that could have easily been us. Single family would definitely be first choice because you need that privacy in situations like that.

NJ: Temporary housing would have been a big help. Schools were used as shelters and when some power was restored kids still couldn't go to school because the people in the temporary shelters had nowhere to go and no family anywhere. I think single family would be best as people could grieve alone and not feel uncomfortable around strangers.

7. How long did/will it take to re-build?

T: It took and extensive amount of time for us to rebuild and it was hard not to be negative but I would put that more on the shoulders of our individual contractor than it being a standard through the disaster. For the most part rebuilding for other people seemed to be fairly rapid. The only problem was the lack of contractors available but later on other contractors came in from out of state looking for the extra work.

NJ: The rebuild process hasn't even begun, the cleanup is still going on nearly eight weeks after and it will probably take a minimum of four to five months to see real progress.

8. Did you have any help? (Friends, family, non-profit organizations, insurance) How helpful were each of those?

T: As I mentioned earlier, my family was the biggest help. The Red Cross and FEMA did come through to make sure everybody had food, water, flashlight, etc. Our insurance did really well with quickly replacing the things we needed and reimbursing the things we had already bought to accommodate for the things we had lost.

NJ: There were lots of volunteers and paid help from all over the country as well as many nonprofit organizations. They were a huge help and willing to do anything which was very nice because the elderly needed a lot of help salvaging any items as well as starting the demolition process. Insurance companies have been dreadful for people to deal with here and people are only being giving minimal amounts of money if any and are having to fight for the amounts to do the repairs correctly. Suffering without a lot of the things they need to live. People are scared and nervous and have no idea what to do. A lot of people haven't not received a dime from there companies at this stage and FEMA is putting out new regulations and guidelines that the homeowners must abide by and these will increase the cost on the repairs drastically which insurance companies aren't willing to pay for. These could be the lifting of a house which could cost 40-50 thousand dollars on top of the repairs needed to be made to the already damaged house which could put the total cost at greater than 75-80 percent of the value of the home which is creating very big issues between insurance companies, home owners and the government. Overall I would say that the people coming together and all the volunteers have been god sent but all the insurance companies, government agencies, FEMA, as well town and state agencies have been causing more grief, negativity and uncertainty in a very damaged and battered area.