Texas Family Rebuilding After Devastating July Fourth Floods

Devastating Flood Impact

• 💔 The Guadalupe River in Texas rose over 26 feet in under an hour, leading to one of the deadliest floods in US history, with over 130 fatalities.
• 🏠 The Gerstner family lost all three homes on their property, their business, and all their livestock due to the devastating floods over the Fourth of July holiday.
• 🌊 Brandy Gerstner described the event as one of the hardest days of their lives, with the floodwaters destroying everything they had built over 36 years.

Rebuilding and Recovery Challenges

• 🚚 Over the past six months, the family, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, has focused on cleaning up debris and preparing the site for rebuilding.
• ⏳ Rebuilding efforts are on hold, awaiting finalization of insurance and FEMA claims, a process that has taken six months so far.
• 🏘️ The family is currently living in trailers on their property as they navigate the complex recovery process.

Advocacy and Future Preparedness

• 🏛️ Ashley Willis and other survivors have been actively advocating for policy changes, including lobbying for community block grant monies and for FEMA to become an independent agency.
• 💰 They are also working with organizations like Organizing Resilience and fighting for funds like the Texas Fund forever to prevent future disasters from having such a catastrophic impact.
• 🤝 The family's focus has shifted to helping others and fighting for systemic changes to improve disaster recovery and preparedness for all communities.

FEMA Funding Efforts

• 🗣️ Brandy and other survivors traveled to Washington D.C. to speak with congressional staffers about the importance of keeping FEMA fully funded.
• 📝 They are working to gain support for the 2025 FEMA Act, seeking co-sponsors in the Senate to help move the bill forward.
• 🤝 Efforts include encouraging communication between senators and congressmen to ensure support for FEMA's crucial role in disaster relief.