DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — Hundreds of residents on the east side of Detroit had their homes and streets flooded last night and are now left to clean up the mess. They're also looking for answers as to how this happened.
Around the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood, almost every homeowner we’ve spoken to said their basement was filled with water last night into this morning.
The water has since receded, but the damage remains, as more rain is set to come.
“Is anyone going to help us here? And how soon,” Jefferson-Chalmers resident Donna Ramsey said.
Ramsey is one of the hundreds Detroit residents left with sopping wet floors and damaged belongings.
"Gotta wade through everything to see what’s good and what’s not,” Ramsey said.
The Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood was hit hard with flooding after the nearby conner creek pump was overwhelmed last night. It was one of at least 28 pumps in the region that failed.
“The intensity of these storms exceeded the designed standards for pump stations and combined sewer overflow facilities throughout the detroit region,” director of the Detroit Water and Sewage Department Gary Brown said.
Residents of Jefferson Chalmers said it’s not the first time this has happened.
“All my furniture, it floated together. And my refrigerator freezer had flipped over,” another Jefferson Chalmers Resident said.
The city created a hotline for residents to call to report damage which also has been backed up.
"I'm on hold and I’ve been on hold for over 30 minutes,” Linda Buohy said.
Buohy also woke up to her basement flooded.
"My refrigerator toppled, so I lost all my food. My hot water tank is not working," she said.
As residents spend all day cleaning up the damage, they hope help is on the way for their neighbors who can't.
“I've got neighbors that are senior citizens, disabled, on breathing machines," Jefferson Chalmers resident Jocelyn Harris said. "They don't have opportunity for people to come and help them all the time."
Before we left Linda did get through on that line and was able to make a claim with the city. Anyone who has experienced flood damage in the city of Detroit is encouraged to claim by calling that emergency line number at 313-267-8000.
