Compounding the shock and pain of the damage was the fact that this home was the only one her girls had ever known. Susan and her husband closed on the house in July 2002, a year into their marriage. The property, surrounded by trees and situated on the north end of the neighbourhood, had multi-coloured brick, a dark brown roof, dark shutters, and a spacious front yard. Sure, it needed some work, but they didn't mind spending their savings on the down payment. "I loved the style of it; it has really good bones," Susan said. "And I loved the location. I loved it because it backed up to the bayou, [which] took it away." They were told by their first insurance agent that flood coverage probably wasn't necessary because the house had never flooded. They decided not to buy it.