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One year after Irma, woman still can't live in damaged home

Posted at 6:37 PM, Sep 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-10 18:37:52-04

One year after Hurricane Irma hit Florida, a woman living near Royal Palm Beach still doesn’t feel like she’s weathered the storm.

“It’s a total nightmare," Iris said.

Iris has lived in Worthington Estates off Okeechobee Boulevard for 15 years, but she’s been forced to live in a rental home next to her house for the past year.

“It’s over a year and look at my home, I have nowhere to go," Iris said.

It started with a storm in June 2017 that caused a leak in the roof. Then in September, Hurricane Irma blew through, blowing off the tarp over the leak and allowing water to flood the house, causing mold.

“Everything, all the furniture, everything was damaged, my clothing, everything," she said.

Iris said she’s been working with an insurance adjuster over the last year, but the work seems to have come to a standstill. Workers left the house looking like a shell and they haven't been back in months, she said.

“I don’t see how any efforts are being made to have me reinstated back into my home," she said.

She said she's had a claim in with her insurance company as well, but hasn't received any compensation to pay to fix damages.