MCCLURE (WSIL) -- Flooding is a way of life when you live near the Mississippi River, so residents like Rachel Parker thought they knew what they were getting themselves into.
Her family has owned a piece of property near the intersection of Route 3 and Route 146 for 47 years.
"This is home, oh my goodness this is home," says Parker, who is a lifelong McClure resident. "People are so down to earth here, and I love my church family down there."
However, nothing could have prepared Parker and her family for what happened last spring.
"We tried to put things down like we normally do and everything would be fine," she recalls. "But it was not fine. It destroyed everything."
Relentless rain, a ground too wet to soak anything up, and a high Mississippi River preventing the floodgates from being opened for relief created widespread impacts.
It stared with vital roadways being closed forcing Parker to drive two and a half hours, multiple times week to her mom's dialysis appointments in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A trip that usually takes 15 minutes.
"I had gone through so much water that it blew a part and needed to be repaired costing $1200," she remembers.
The situation started to be come more serious with water closing in around the home. Parker and her family then staying in hotels, campers in family member's backyards and finally finding a home to rent.
"We were literally boating stuff out because we needed stuff for our new house," she says.
Once Rachel and her family were able to return, clean up began and they tried to salvage what they could.
"You just had mold everywhere so we'd just take it out," she recalls. "If you knew that you wanted to keep it, you put it in a pile to clean it."
Now, the home is set to be demolished and her family received no help from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency or insurance to rebuild.
"Out of all honesty insurance doesn't pay anything because it's seep water and not flood water," Parker explains. "So you're basically out."
The main things that has kept her going is that her family is safe and her faith.
"I'm going to tell you something God provides, and he did it every step of the way," Parker adds.
News 3's Brooke Schlyer will have more on what's next for Parker and her family and if her thoughts on flooding possibly happening in the future.
Plus, how Spark church members turned Blessing Boxes with essentials for flood victims into a way to feed neighbors all year long.
That's July 10th on News 3 This Morning at 6:30 and News 3 at 6 p.m.
