CHICAGO (CBS) — Every round of heavy rain is a reminder for the residents still cleaning up after last month’s floods.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) joined Cook County and state crews going door to door in Calumet City on Friday to collect information for their September damage assessment.
CBS 2’s Sara Machi was there.
The crews walk the neighborhoods of Calumet City hit hardest by recent flooding, sending information up the chain to determine what kind of financial resources will be available for victims — like Cece Hill.
“When September 17 happened it was like wow. It flooded.”
Hill said “I was out of town and I was on my way in and I had a person who was sitting for me and she called freaking out. You got a lot of water coming in and I was almost home so I came in in the middle of it all. They had blocked off some of the main streets so people were trying to figure out how to get in and out of these blocks. It was difficult.”
So many of her neighbors watched as water came into their homes.
“People kept riding through it with the big trucks and every time they would ride through it it would cause a wave, and it would come up more.”
Hill had water in the crawl space under her home, in her garage, and her home. She photographed both the immediate and long-term damage.
“Less than 48 hours later: mold.”
Those photos and repair estimates are what crews are looking for when they meet with residents in Calumet City, but also Dolton, Riverdale, Burningham, and Chicago.
“It is important to be proactive in reducing the likelihood of future losses.”
Especially because Hill said her insurance will not be covering the cost of these repairs.
There are five crews like this one going around the area looking for anyone who is affected by the flooding on September 16 or 17th, an effort that will continue over the weekend.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/cook-county-fema-state-officials-flood-victims/