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Tragedy strikes again for Marshalltown family

contributed photos — The Jamell family, who are Marshalltown Main Street residents, have gotten hit twice by natural disasters. They survived Monday’s derecho. Before that, they received a lot of damage from the tornado.

For the Jamell family on Main Street, Monday’s storm was far too familiar. Severe damage to their 130-year old house wiped out all progress made since the 2018 tornado.

Amanda Jamell and her husband bought the house as their first home four months before the EF-3 tornado devastated Marshalltown. The house sustained about $74,000 in damage.

Despite the extensive damage, the Jamells only received $518 from their insurance company. In the years after the tornado, they hired attorneys to try to receive money from insurance but have not received any more.

They had just finished repairs when Monday’s storm brought new problems. While there is not as much damage on the outside as from the tornado, Jamell said there is extensive water and electrical damage.

“This storm was unfortunately familiar,” Jamell said. “That fear ran through your mind again.”

The fear was a little different this time, though. Instead of fear for their own lives, they were most concerned about the damage to their home, knowing they would receive little help from insurance.

She remembers the fear from the 2018 tornado. Seven months pregnant, Jamell was cleaning in the kitchen when the tornado sirens went off. She didn’t think much of it until her husband called from the living room. They rushed to the basement with their young child.

“You could feel the house vibrating,” Jamell said.

She said they could hear the windows breaking out in the attic.

“We were expecting to come out of the basement and have nothing left,” Jamell said.

When strong winds and rain hit on Monday, it reminded her of the tornado they had just weathered.

During the storm, they pressed their bodies against the windows to keep them from blowing in. One side of the house had all of the window seals broken and water came pouring out of light sockets.

Jamell said what was running through her head was, “We need to do all we can to preserve our house.”

Travis Grammer from Grams Construction did the previous repairs on the home and checked the damage from the storm. According to him, the repairs will be roughly the same amount as from the tornado and will likely include a new roof.

For now the family is spending the days with relatives and sleeping at home in the undamaged rooms. Jamell hopes others will not go through the same troubles she has.

“Do your research on insurance companies,” she said.

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