A month after floodwater poured into her Park Road basement, Melissa Rodriguez is still boiling pots of water just to bathe her family, with her foundation now bowing two inches and a new crack spreading across the wall. She is not alone. Several of her Brockton neighbors are also stuck without heat or hot water, waiting on insurance companies that have gone quiet.
Four Feet of Water, Then Silence From Insurers
Rodriguez's home flooded on Sept. 27 when a nor'easter tore through the region, sending roughly four feet of water into her basement, according to Boston 25 News. A creek near her property rose during the storm, and she said it becomes, in her words, a force to reckon with when it rains. Showing the outlet her basement, she pointed to foundation cracks and what she believes could be mold growing along the walls.
Rodriguez said her foundation is now bowing two inches, and another crack has since developed. She has already spent hundreds of dollars at Lowe's on mold-cleaning solutions, trying to keep the damage from spreading while she waits for her claim with Crawford to move forward. With no working boiler, her family has resorted to boiling water, dumping it into the bathtub, adding cold water, and pouring it over themselves with a cup just to get clean.
A Baby Without Heat, A Boiler That Costs $20,000
Down the street, a neighbor named Diana says her household, including an eight-month-old baby and a three-year-old daughter, is also still without heat. She told the station that replacing her damaged boiler will cost between $17,000 and $20,000, and that whatever her insurance ultimately pays will not cover the full price. Diana has flood insurance through Wright Flood Insurance, but like Rodriguez, she is still waiting on a resolution.
The lack of heat has taken a toll on her kids. Diana kept her daughter home from school for two days because of fevers, coughing and a runny nose, and said her baby had symptoms as well. For her, the priority is simple: get heat back for her children before anything else.
Storm Dumped Inches of Rain Across the Region
The flooding that triggered the damage was widespread. Brockton was among the communities placed under a flood warning on Sept. 27 as the nor'easter moved through, according to MassLive. By that afternoon, between 3 and 5 inches of rain had already fallen in affected communities, with forecasters warning another 1 to 2 inches could follow. Statewide, the storm was expected to drop 2 to 4 inches of rain, with some areas potentially seeing 5 to 7 inches.
Both Rodriguez and Diana say they have flood insurance but are still trying to resolve their claims weeks after the storm. Boston 25 News reported it reached out to Wright Flood Insurance and Crawford about the homeowners' claims but had not received a response by the time of its report. Rodriguez said she has no answers right now and is worried about what comes next.
No State Mandate, But a Complaint Process Exists
Massachusetts does not require residents to carry flood insurance, according to state guidance published by Mass.gov. For policyholders who feel their insurer isn't responding adequately, the state's Division of Insurance advises first contacting the company or producer directly to try to resolve the dispute; if that fails, residents can file a complaint online with supporting documents, per guidance from Mass.gov.
As colder weather sets in, the timing adds pressure for families like Rodriguez's and Diana's. Massachusetts' Home Energy Assistance Program is set to run from Nov. 1 through April 30, with online applications opening in October, according to information from MassCAP. The group also lists a year-round heating-system repair and replacement program for income-eligible households. For now, though, the Brockton families at the center of this story are still without heat, still without hot water, and still waiting to hear back.
