Relief for Marlina

Five members of Alabama?s Disaster Response Team drove 15 hours to volunteer with Hope Force International and help those affected by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. They knew the power of helping hands after two tornadoes ripped through their Huntsville, Alabama community in 2011 and 2012 and they received help to recover.

?We had to come,? team member Ron Raby said.

One of the homeowners they helped was Marlina Abdulla, a grandmother who still lives in her childhood home. During the hurricane, she opted to stay in her house with her dog, Mink. Flood waters had never entered her house before, so she thought she would be safe. However, Marlina wasn?t prepared for the huge storm surge that rushed in from the ocean bay, flooding miles of neighborhoods along the coast.

That night, contaminated water rose up three feet and began to enter her home. As she turned to run for towels, water that had filled the crawlspace under her house began bubbling up through the floor behind her. Mink leaped onto the stairs, as though urging her to move to the second floor, but by the time she had reached her rubber boots, the water was above her knees.

?I never thought it would be that bad,? she said. ?I was amazed at how fast the water level came up in the house.?

As Marlina waded through the dirty water and thought about the danger of being electrocuted, the lights went out. She waded to the stairs and felt her way up to the second floor. There, she clung to Mink in a small, windowless room.

?I just waited for it to be over,? Marlina said. ?I didn?t want to see anymore. I just wanted it to be over.?

By the next morning, the flood water had rescinded. Marlina wandered through her home and confirmed her fears that everything was soaked and ruined. Her carpet, as well as all of her appliances and furniture, was saturated. With the power still out, she had no heat and no idea of how to deal with the disaster before her.

Five days later, at church, her pastor announced that Hope Force International volunteers were available to help homeowners move their ruined belongings to the curb. Marlina, too stunned to respond, had to be reminded by her daughter to place a call to Hope Force for help.

She gratefully received the volunteer team from Alabama. They carried out her furniture that was beginning to smell. The team also ripped up the carpet, removed the drywall above the waterline so her walls could dry out, cut up a downed tree in the backyard, and pulled up dead bushes.

Marlina lost her furnishings, appliances and her car in the flood. She, like many others in this region, thanks God for sparing her life and looks to Him for strength to sustain her in the coming days of recovery and rebuilding.