From disaster to hope: A Vermont family thankful for community support after flood destroyed home

abcnews.go.com:

A Vermont family who lost their home, cars, barn and most of their possessions in flooding in July will be getting a new start thanks to scores of donations to an online fundraising effort

PEACHAM, Vt. — The last thing John and Jenny Mackenzie saw as they fled their Vermont home with their daughters, dog and two guinea pigs last summer was their cars upended and propelled away by rushing flood waters.

Minutes earlier they had abandoned their 19th-century wood-frame house as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl turned it into an island engulfed by surging flood waters, with trees slamming into it and water gushing at colossal speed into the basement and first floor.

“It was just like it was a horror movie at that point,” John Mackenzie said of the surreal scene on that July 10 night.

“We lost both of our vehicles, our home and our barn and at least half of our possessions,” Jenny Mackenzie said.

Since that terrifying storm when two people died swept away in vehicles, the Mackenzies, both teachers, and their twin daughters have been living temporarily in a friend's house. They have scrambled to figure out something permanent, a daunting task in a state with a housing shortage and when government programs to buy out flood-destroyed homes can take a year or more and are not guaranteed.

But four months after the devastating loss, the family is writing a new chapter.

Donations from friends, family and others in their community have helped the Mackenzies find a new house in time for Thanksgiving, giving them hope amid ongoing challenges. The Associated Press is following them through their recovery.

The Mackenzies quickly learned how much support they had.

Two days after the storm, dozens of volunteers showed up to help salvage