Ordered to Evacuate

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AFTER THE RAIN, our insurance adjuster said we needed to evacuate immediately ─ our house was unsafe for human habitation.

Professional test results revealed that our house was contaminated with toxic mold.

We’d been looking for places to rent or buy, but there was nothing available in our small Texas town. My husband made a call, then said we’d move to a remote Bed & Breakfast that wasn’t yet open for business.

The insurance adjuster said remediation would take a minimum of 30 to 45 days. I hoped we’d return to our clean home by Thanksgiving.

I asked our 3 kids to select a few day’s worth of clothing and necessities. We cleaned everything and left it in the sun to dry, then packed.

The next day we moved 45 minutes away.

We wouldn’t move home by Thanksgiving ─ we’d never live in our house again.

Toxic mold forced us from our home less than 30 days after the rain.

10-4-2002