Springs renter hopes flooding nightmare can become lesson for others

Annaleen DeHaan came home to a nightmare Monday evening.
Her home on the east side of Colorado Springs was devastated by floodwater.
“My mom calls me and is like, ‘So, the house flooded. I have a foot of mud and water,’” DeHaan said. “I kind of thought she was exaggerating.”
It was no exaggeration. Judging by marks left on her walls, muddy, debris-filled water was at least a foot high in DeHaan’s home, blanketing the entire first floor, including the living room, kitchen, bathroom and her mother’s room.
“We’re seeing mud, pine needles, pine cones, random tree debris,” DeHaan said. “They’re telling us we’ll have to cut two feet out of the dry wall to even fix it.”
To make matters worse, several antique pieces of furniture belonging to DeHaan’s great-grandparents were also damaged. DeHaan’s not sure if they can be salvaged.
“It’s very overwhelming. There’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of cleaning to be done,” she said.
DeHaan said she was disappointed to learn flood insurance was not covered under her renter’s insurance policy.
“It means this is all out of pocket,” she said. “We’re looking at easily 10 grand to just clean and get everything refurbished right now.”
DeHaan hopes others in southern Colorado will check their insurance policies and make sure flood insurance is included. To learn more about insurance policies and disaster relief assistance, visit theUnited Policyholders website.