The remnants of Tropical Storm Debby made its way across central Pa. last month unleashing thunderstorms, tornado watches and floods.
York County saw the worst of it on Aug. 9. That’s when a retired couple in the Dillsburg area said they heard a loud crash from their basement amid heavy rains.
Don Bechtel, 72, peeked downstairs to see water and mud rushing through their basement. Pressure from heavy rain had caused their 30-foot-wide rear cinder block wall to collapse. The wall had stood 8 feet tall.
Flash flooding filled their basement with 4 feet of water, ruining everything they had stored there and making their home unlivable, said Don, and his wife Donna.
The damage wasn’t covered by their homeowner’s insurance policy. As it turns out, many standard home insurance policies don’t cover damage from external flooding caused by hurricanes, tsunamis, storm surges, or heavy rain.
Now, friends and family members are banding together to help get the Bechtels back into their home.
This is what the Bechtels found in their basement after hearing a loud crash Aug. 7, 2024.Donna Bechtel
Crisis Relief and Recovery Inc., a national disaster relief agency, picked up the case to help fix their basement. The nonprofit organization is looking for volunteers to help on Oct. 5 and 12.
The Bechtels said they were getting ready for breakfast around 9 a.m. Aug. 9 when they noticed their water gauge measured seven inches of rain within a couple of hours.
“The water just came down like a river through our yard,” Donna said.
“We couldn’t even see the green grass in our backyard,” Don said.
They know something drastic happened after they heard the “loud crash sound.”
“The thought of our basement wall coming apart like that was pretty shocking,” she told PennLive. “It destroyed pretty much everything.”
Among the losses were her husband’s woodworking equipment and tools, projects he was working on for family Christmas gifts, their washer and dryer, a small refrigerator, some chairs, an old memory-filled pool table, and supplies for everyday living.
Fire crews and police arrived at their home within minutes. However, firefighters told the couple to stay somewhere else as a precaution.
The couple, who live on a fixed income, thought their hotel stay would be covered by their homeowner’s insurance, as well as the damage. After two weeks, and $2,000 worth of hotel expenses, they found out otherwise.
“With insurance not covering flooding that made it a really hard thing to deal with,” she said. “You thought you had your insurance and then you find out this is going to be a huge expense, and we don’t have the means to spend that kind of money. It was shocking.”
Since the collapse, crew members with the nonprofit had to remove the backyard deck to begin making repairs. This Saturday, the couple will have a new wall installed in their basement after seven weeks.
Although it’ll be a while before their basement is back to normal, the couple appreciates the help they have received.
“We’re just thankful for all of the help because we’re 72 years old,” she said. “This isn’t something that we can do on our own.”
The Bechtels have lived at the home for 42 years. Their family has grown to 19 people including their three children and all their grandchildren.
“We always have their holiday gatherings here. It’s’ a small place but everyone loves to come because a good place to be,” she said.
An online fundraiser has helped raise more than $15,000 so far.
“I don’t know how we would have gotten through this without all of the help,” she said.”
For more information on how you can get involved or donate, click here. Donations can be made to Crisis Relief and Recovery through its website.
