Overnight Rains Cause Floods In New Brighton
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Saturday morning downpour caused a parking lot at a New Brighton apartment complex to flood, and the water damaged dozens of vehicles and storage units.
When water surrounded Dayle Washington's Pontiac, it damaged more than just her car. It took her home, because she basically lived out of her car.
"I couldn't cry," Washington said. "Nothing I could do."
Washington was staying in her friend's apartment, but kept all of her belongings in her car. Now her clothes are soaked in oily water.
The overnight rain flooded the apartment's lower parking lot, and many residents didn't realize the extent of the damage until Saturday morning.
The water's reach stretched beyond the cars. Storage units weren't spared from the flood, and neither were Jennifer Giroux's memories.
"I want to cry, but I'm past that now," Giroux said. "It's my childhood round here; can't replace that."
On a hot summer day most people look for any excuse to be near water, but a flooded parking lot may be the one exception.
"This ain't the water you want to be in," Washington said.
Residents said the area is prone to flooding, because it's surrounded by a lake, a creek and a pond.
Management did not return calls to answer if they had plans to address the problem.
Overnight tropical-like rains also caused a section of Interstate 35W to close, many other metro streets and basements to flood, and a washed-out bridge in Fridley to buckle and cause a train derailment.
