Ms. Strzelczyk, how is your store now?
Urszula Strelczyk: Disastrous. There was no water in the store, and we drained the water in the cellar, but everything was ruined. There was mud everywhere, the cabinets were swollen, the furniture was ruined, the accessories were no longer available, and many clothes could not be saved. Everything smells bad. We are currently working with friends and acquaintances to clean up everything and put it on the road. The city of Hagen disposes of our garbage for free, which is a great help.
The water also erodes your clothes. How much clothes can you save?
About half of the inventory, or about 250 dresses. We hope to be able to recycle it through dry cleaning now. Nevertheless, they are only suitable as second-hand works or examples. You can sell them cheaper, but the question is whether anyone still wants to wear them. They are no longer original. Our dresses usually sell for between 500 and 3000 Euros. We haven’t had time to figure out the actual value loss, but this is a disaster for us. This shop is our life’s business, and we have been operating it for more than 18 years.
The bride who is going to get married in the near future has to cancel the wedding because the skirt is ruined?
No, thank goodness not. One of our employees saved the clothes sold at the last minute, transported them away at night and stored them safely.At the time we ourselves flood On holiday in Poland, but immediately got in the car, in Hagen the next morning.
Where is the newest clothes rescued?
They were separated and stayed with all our acquaintances and friends. Of course, no one has so much storage space to store all their clothes. The rest is already in the trash can.
When did the water enter the store?
From Wednesday to Thursday night. During the day, water flows into the cellar, which is about 15 to 20 cm high. Then the cellar filled the ceiling overnight. We suspect that water also enters the store through the cellar. But big waves rushed into the doors and windows, flooding 140 square meters of retail space.
Do you insure against such disasters?
No, you need to purchase basic insurance for this. We insure everything from fires, thefts, and bursts of water pipes. But we did not expect such a natural disaster to happen.
How can you get help?
We have started calling for donations and have received 4000 Euros. We are overwhelmed by people’s help. For example, a good friend provides us with a warehouse where we can take the clothes we rescued. At present, there are always eight to ten people in our shop to help us organize.
After a year and a half of the pandemic, 4,000 euros may not be enough for reconstruction.
Yes, this is a disaster. In the past two years, we have hardly sold out. During the pandemic sales period, there were probably 20 to 30 clothes. In June, we stood firm again, and less than a month later, the flood destroyed everything. This season should start in autumn, and we went to the wedding market two weeks ago to buy new things. We have all stopped orders, and these clothes will not be shipped until we control the situation.
What’s the next step?
First of all, we rely on rescue clothes, we can still show them to customers. But this is only a small part, otherwise we have to start from scratch.
