After Lightning Strike, Family Struggles To Recover
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A family whose home was struck by lightning attempting to recover from the ordeal but having a hard time.
Going back inside her burned out home was just too much for Maria Zapata.
With her son comforting her, she made her way back outside, still stunned that everything they had is gone.
"We lost everything," she said in Spanish.
Maria's son Julio Zapata was home Friday as bad weather moved through. He was in his bedroom, when he was jolted out of bed after a flash of lightning and loud clap of thunder.
"I was laying down on the phone talking to my girlfriend, it literally knocked me of the bed. I jumped on the bed and then I had to get up because it was so loud and powerful," said Julio.
He said the condo was hit by lightning.
"I even told my girlfriend, 'Babe, I think it struck here!' She said, 'Oh, that's one in a million chance, what are the chances of that,'" said Julio.
They beat the odds, unfortunately. He noticed smoke pouring out of the AC vent almost immediately when he walked into the kitchen. It was already too late.
"This right here caught fire and we had some shelves here where we kept linen and towels and all that was on fire," said Zapata.
When asked what they lost, fire victim Gustavo Frano said, "Everything, look at it. Everything, everything is lost. We lost 35 years of work very, very hard, so it's not easy."
Making this all even worse, the family thought they had insurance. The key word is "thought." Turns out their condo building is insured just nothing inside.
"So you have no insurance," asked Scouten.
"No, no. nothing," said Frano.
"That was a surprise to you," asked Scouten.
"Yes, because I think that we have," said Frano.
So now they're salvaging what few belongings they can and trying to figure out what to do next and how to repair and rebuild, while still paying the 15 years left on their mortgage.
The family needs a contractor who can help rebuild. They also need appliances and other essentials. If you can help, call CBS4's Neighbors for Neighbors at 305-597-4404 or click here.