After the Flood: Even When You Think You're Done... You're NOT

As regulars to these pages know, a couple of weeks ago we had a flood in our gallery, as a result of a freak weather system passing through town, causing 7-8" of water to enter our store. If you're interested, you can read about the whole experience in this post.

On last Friday, we finally opened the gallery again, after being closed for nine days.

Of course, we were quite happy to be open again!

But Wait... Not So Fast!

It's tempting to say that we survived the experience and that everything is back to normal now. But that isn't really the truth. Sure, we're "open for business" but the event is far from gone and forgotten.

The "taking stock and accounting" for the impact of the event remains-- in the form of listing and documenting everything that was damaged and lost as part of the flooding.

We have already learned that our insurance claim has been rejected because the water entered the building from the outside. Ironic, that. If a water pipe had burst and flooded our premises, the insurance would have covered the damage, but since we were dealing with rainwater from the outside... we were not covered. And since we're not actually located in a floodplain, flood insurance doesn't cover, either... because we had a "surface water event." 

This, we learned from a lengthy conversation with our insurance adjuster today who "hated to be the bearer of bad news."

Or so she said.

Next in Line

So our next option is to make a claim with the city, on the grounds that the drains in the parking lot had not been maintained properly... which IS true. 

Thankfully, we are not alone-- the three other businesses that flooded and our landlord are all going that direction now. 

So far, the city has "been receptive" and forthcoming in providing assistance in making a claim for damages... so that at least offers a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

In the Meantime: Life is Expensive!

Of course, the other issue the gallery faces now is that we were closed for business for nine days ("loss of revenue," in legal terms) and we had to repurchase a bunch of things that were lost-- from power strips to packing supplies, with cash, up front. And we incurred cleaning fees and had other expenses.

So I'm sure you can see where this is going: on one side, we had no cash coming in, on the other, we had way above normal expenses. 

And, of course, now rent is due in five days' time. Hopefully, we can negotiate something with the landlord, since they were-- after all-- "front and center" to the whole incident, and also incurred damages they are trying to reclaim from the city.

The Point...

... of this post isn't to "cry a river" or whine about our situation... but to illustrate for others (who might have galleries or other businesses) that even when things appear to be back to normal, they aren't necessarily, quite yet. 

The other point to illustrate is that no matter how well insured you think you might be... or how well prepared you think you are... odds are it's not as "well prepared" as you originally thought. 

People often overlook "emergency preparedness" or shrug it off with an air of "the odds are so remote, it will never happen to us!" but it does. So be prepared!

Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member and supporter of the @sndbox creative initiative.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.