VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - It has been nearly a week since Hurricane Matthew hit Virginia Beach but neighbors across the city are still cleaning up the mess the storm left behind.
Neighbors in the Dunbarten section of the city were seen packing up their few salvageable items into storage units on Friday.
Thailia Hocker and her husband left their home of 20 years last Saturday for a night out. Not knowing that when they would return, their entire home would be filled with flood water.
"I almost didn't believe it," said Thailia. "Then to come into the neighborhood and see the water come into the house and see everything moved around and everything destroyed, it was hard."
Thailia's daughter, Liz, was inside the home during the storm. She watched as the water claimed their belongings.
"Stuff is floating and so you hear random cracks of things toppling over," Liz explained.
The family says there was between three and four inches of water inside the home right after the storm, but nearly a week after the storm parts of the home are still wet and getting moldy.
"The house is inhabitable and soon they will be cutting two feet of drywall all the way around to air out the house and treat the mold," said Thailia. "It's incredibly difficult and incredibly scary not to know exactly what's going to happen next."
Thanks to their friends, the family has a place to sleep, but they realize not everyone has the same support system in place.
"If it wasn't for first colonial high school where I teach I don't know what I would have done," said Thailia.
