Cicero, Berwyn residents await federal help after devastating floods
CICERO, Ill. (CBS) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to head to Cicero and Berwyn this week for an official flood damage assessment.
But one month later, residents said they can't wait for the federal government to help. CBS 2's Marissa Perlman was out talking to neighbors who are still hoping for help and soon.
There was much damage in Cicero that isn't visible from the outside, but neighbors told CBS 2 they're dealing with mold, bacteria, sewer backups, and needing replacement furniture for what they lost.
The stormwater seeped into Brent and Shapearl Wells' Cicero home, which had a foot of water from the floods. They had to get a new washer, dryer, a furnace and throw out all of their late son Courtney's belongings. He died in 2016.
"As a mother, you want to hold on to so much for your child, and I had to let it go," Shapearl said. "It was like reopening the loss over again for me. That's what this storm basically did to our family."
Brent Wells added, "It was really difficult to lose a lot of the memories that we had left that we tried to save of Courtney's."
They said they've gone into credit card debt and have blown through their savings to replace items for their property.
FEMA is in the Chicago area to assess the damage, but residents aren't sure if or when they'll see financial relief.
"A lot of people's lives have been uprooted by this flood, and we need immediate relief and support," said Ankur Singh, a Cicero resident.
Singh's basement, off West 22nd Place just down the street from Cicero Town Hall, was a mess with the flooding. He said almost a month after floods hit Cicero, most of his community can't afford to pick up the pieces.
He's hoping with FEMA's visit, they will approve funding and financial assistance for residents but also said it's the town government that needs to come up with a long-term plan.
"This is going to happen again," Singh said. "I'm not putting any more stuff in my basement. I know it's going to flood again.
"The relief they've been offering has been band-aid solutions. It's been bare minimum. We're going to have to wait months to get FEMA assistance, but from the sound of it, the FEMA assistance isn't going to be substantial to cover all of the expenses people will have to pay."
Cicero leaders said the fire department took more than 300 calls during the storm, 10 times the normal amount of a 24-hour shift in July.
FEMA has not said when exactly it will be assessing the Cicero area. The federal agency is in town alongside the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. State leaders said there are 14,000 homes in Austin, Cicero, Berwyn and Stickney on their assessment list, but they said getting to each home impacted by the storm would be nearly impossible.
"If there is ability to get assistance, we want to get that as soon as possible as a state, so what we'll do is what's called a fair representation of neighborhoods to see what that looks like," said Greg Nimmo, of IEMA.
Some neighbors are questioning why it took almost a month to get to their community.
"I need FEMA to think about this with a sense of urgency," Shapearl Wells said. "We need help today. We need people on the ground going door-to-door asking, 'What do you need?'"
FEMA has not said how long the assessment of the Cicero and Berwyn areas will take.