As officials assess damage from flooding last month on West Side; residents say they need help now
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There was finally some action Tuesday for flood victims on Chicago's West Side, as state and federal crews went door-to-door to assess the damage there Tuesday.
It has been more than two weeks since record rains overwhelmed the system and sent water into basements. Residents told CBS 2's Marybel González they need help – and they need it now.
"It's horrible!" said Dorothy Cummings. "It's horrible, when you ain't prepared for nothing."
Cummings had to temporarily move out of the place she has called home for the past 54 years after her basement flooded earlier this month.
"I went to my son's house. He wouldn't let me stay here. 'You'll be sick.' 'I'll be all right .' 'No, you got to get out of here,'" Cummings said. "That mold goes all the way through."
The mold is now growing where the sewer water lingered.
"I had the refrigerator, the freezer in there, had a king-size bed and two twin beds in here, 50-inch TV - that stuff was floating," Cummings said. "We need help right now. Yesterday."
And it appears help is now on the way.
They have not made it as far as Cummings' house yet, but on Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson – along with state and federal agencies – went door-to-door in the Austin neighborhood assessing the flooding damage to petition for federal assistance.
"It's just a mess," Cummings said. "A mess."
The mayor and the state and federal agency representatives met with residents who are still struggling to put back the pieces after the rainfall back on July 2.
"The water was coming out of our toilet – and it was dirty water," one woman said. "So at that point, how is that fair?"
"We lost pictures, DJ equipment, my grandkids' toys," said Austin resident Peggy Brewer.
"You've been living there all your life and then – can't even imagine putting back all the memories and all that stuff," a man added.
The main concern now is how long the residents will have to wait – because with each day that goes by, the damage only gets worse.
"After you get stuff out the basement, then you've got to worry about scrubbing the basement - because you wonder about the mold," said Austin resident Jackie Brown.
The assessment teams will total up a damage report and send that to the state. If it's high enough, the state can ask for federal assistance.
Organizers stress any money that does come in won't cover the full cost of damage, but it will offset homeowners' losses.
On Wednesday, FEMA will give an update on what the damage assessment teams have found so far. Their surveys will continue during the next few weeks.
They're asking people to take pictures of the damage to their homes.