'Brides Across America' scrambling after North Andover flooding destroys hundreds of wedding dresses
NORTH ANDOVER – North Andover-based Brides Across America is now scrambling to recover after flooding from a broken dam ruined hundreds of wedding dresses that were supposed to be donated to members of the military, first responders and healthcare workers.
Wedding dresses are sent across the country out of the non-profit's North Andover warehouse.
"We deploy everything out of here. So yeah I'm just really still kind of in shock coming back here today," founder Heidi Janson said.
Janson said nearly 80% of that inventory was destroyed last week when floodwaters inundated the warehouse.
"Everything was just mud. Soaking wet, water everywhere. Dirt and debris like I've never experienced," Janson said.
A week later, crews are still ripping out walls inside while soon-to-be discarded dresses are now marred by muddy water. The dresses remain on racks, damaged beyond repair.
"At this point I'm trying to take stock of like what we can, what we're able to do at this point," Janson said.
Without flood insurance, Janson is left wondering what sort of help the charity could receive to stay afloat.
"We're hoping for some sort of disaster relief because no one had flood insurance. There was never any flooding here, but it was just one of those perfect storms where everything happened here," Janson said.
Janson says financial support is the biggest need right now for Brides Across America, which is raising money online to try and get back up and running.