Three months after Irma, Bonita Springs couple's house remodel starts

The Malones were back in a hotel for the fourth time since Sept. 12. 

“It’s only five days this time,” said Rodney Malone. “We had to stay in hotels for months before.”

Their home in Bonita Springs is under repair after having been flooded by Hurricane Irma, which struck Southwest Florida on Sept. 10.

More: Bonita Springs expects about $16.8 million in Hurricane Irma costs

The hurricane turned their neighborhood off of Bonita Beach Road, near the Imperial River, into a swamp.

Now, during the holidays, their lives are still topsy-turvy. A Christmas tree that would stand in the Malone family living room is not up this year.

Instead, contractors spread poison in the house to rid it of any mold left from the weeks of standing flood water. 

About two feet of water pushed into the Malones' home. The couple didn't think that level of water intrusion was possible until they saw it.

A separate flooding event a month before Hurricane Irma made landfall had pushed water into the garage but had left the living room dry. They said that weather event had made them believe Hurricane Irma might fail to harm their two-story house.

“I knew Irma was going to flood, but I didn’t think it would be that bad,” said Lori Malone.

While the Malones stayed at a safe location as Hurricane Irma's high winds battered Bonita Springs, water from the Imperial River crept higher and higher up their lawn, past sandbags and into their home.

In the days after the storm, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office had to send patrol boats up and down the narrow streets near the Imperial River, including McKenna Avenue, where the Malones' house stands. 

The family, like their neighbors, could only return once the flood waters receded.

The hotel costs of extended stays were daunting to the Malones. 

The home's insurance policy would pay for the home's repairs, but it offered the Malones nothing to cover temporary housing, Rodney Malone said.

More: Boating on flooded streets to aid Irma victims

“The insurance guy waded in two feet of water with me,” Rodney Malone said. “He issued the money. The problem was it went to the mortgage company.”

Despite repeated calls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they received no housing aid, the Malones said.

“I was hoping they’d give us assistance, put us in a trailer,” Rodney Malone said. “I’d live in the front yard. I’ve done that in the military.”

FEMA representatives had walked through the flooded neighborhood in the days after the storm, evaluating the homes, the couple said.

“I watched (the representative) write down ‘unlivable,’” Lori Malone said. “She said, ‘You’ll get assistance for sure.’ We got turned down. They said we had insurance to help us.”

The community stepped in to help, the Malones said.

“(Teri Lamaine) with the (Bonita Springs Assistance Office) got us through the first week,” Rodney Malone said. “We had friends that started a GoFundMe that got us through the second week.”

As much of Southwest Florida returns to normal life after Hurricane Irma, hard-hit areas such as the Imperial River neighborhood where the Malones live are still in the recovery phase.

The Malones moved back home just three weeks ago.

After working with the mortgage company and the city permitting office, the Malones are having their house refurbished — three months after the storm.

A microwave serves as the main cooking device in their bare home.

Volunteers, who helped the day after flood waters receded, had torn out the moldy drywall. Kitchen cabinets, appliances, sofas and tables also were thrown out.

The Malones lived out of their bedrooms upstairs after moving home. But the two haven't been able to get comfortable, they said.

The house had to undergo final toxic, mold-killing sprays, which has forced the family out again.

The couple expects to return home Friday, though the drywall, electric and water construction will continue for weeks.

Amid the chaos of recovering from Hurricane Irma, the Malones have a fourth anniversary coming up on Dec. 22.

It's a reminder there's a lot for them to be grateful for, they said.

“We’ve got our life and family, so we didn’t lose everything,” Lori Malone said.