The holidays weren’t the holidays for Holly and Richard Donohue of Port Hueneme. The last two weeks have been a nightmare for the couple.
"It was December 21st, between two and three in the morning, when it started flooded. We woke up from a sound sleep, to hear water running in the house," said Holly Donohue. "And then the toilets bubbled up because they couldn't handle it. Sewer water came in."
The Donohues live in Hueneme Bay, a more than 700 unit senior community just north of Channel Islands Boulevard. Dozens of the attached single story homes were flooded by the record setting December storm.
More than three inches of rain hit the Oxnard and Port Hueneme areas in less than an hour. That’s more than Oxnard normally gets in the entire month of December.
"I have never experienced anything like this," said Donohue.
As she talks to us, Donohue is sitting in a wheelchair. She was hurt during the flooding. "I tripped in the flood and broke my ankle."
Donohue says the water wasn’t deep, but it was enough to cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage. "Maximum maybe four inches, but it destroyed everything on the ground...the washer and dryer, the heater, and the refrigerator."
She says the damage wasn’t limited to the house, and garage. She takes us to a vehicle which was parked on the street outside of her home when the torrential rainfall hit. The pickup truck was flooded up to the cup holder in the center console, and won't start.
Back inside, the floors have been reduced to the concrete. Friends and volunteers helped remove the flood and sewage soaked carpeting. It's now nothing but bare concrete. What’s next for their home is a question mark.
They didn't have homeowner's insurance, and they say their landlord isn't helping.
Donohue says she and her husband are hoping Ventura County will issue a disaster declaration, setting the stage for potential federal aid in the form of FEMA grants and loans. County officials met Thursday afternoon, to talk about whether a disaster declaration is a possibility.
She says many flood victims have nowhere else to turn.
"It's FEMA or bust," said Donohue.
Donohue and her husband have lived in this Port Hueneme complex for two decades. She admits they are still in shock about what happened.
"There's no carpet on the floor. It's cold. And our heater was red-tagged. There's not much I can say, except for I wish this was all a bad nightmare."
