NEW CANEY, Texas – A New Caney family thought that they were finally getting relief after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Beryl. Now, they’re realizing that their relief might not be sufficient.
Apalonia Sanchez is mom to 11 kids, eight of whom have special needs.
When Hurricane Beryl hit on July 1, a massive tree fell inside the family’s house, leaving immense damage to the roof. Thanks to the rain during and after the storm, the mold is so bad, you can smell it from the driveway.
“I really don’t know what to say at this point. I think we are just confused on how they went from wanted to really help us and saying [they were] on our team to not helping us,” Sanchez explained.
When Sanchez says “they,” she’s referring to FEMA and her insurance company. When it came time to collect storm damage repair, Sanchez says, she got the runaround.
“Me and [an employee] got into it several times about the house, because I’m like, ‘You lied to us.’ We were ready to get people out here and get them started on our home, when she knew all along that’s not how much they were going to give us.”
KPRC 2′s Brittany Begley asks, “So you felt like they lied to you?”
“Yeah, she told a big fat lie,” Sanchez replies.
According to Sanchez on Aug. 14, her insurance company said she would get $324,000, minus her deductible, but she received a check for just $20,000.
Which had us asking... Why?
According to the email sent from the insurance company, which reads in part:
“The fallen tree doesn’t not warrant the demolishment of the building... In addition to the natural event, our investigation also noted that your property experienced hard living conditions.”
So, KPRC 2 spoke to Hansel Mold Inspector to see if they agree with the insurance company response.
“They are probably saying that because of preexisting damage but because of the delay from the insurance company - the whole house is contaminated,” an employee told KPRC 2.
“She got a check for 20,000 in your eyes is that even reasonable?” we asked.
“That’s not even close to reasonable $20,000 won’t even fix the roof,” they replied.