Three weeks after flooding hit the basements of a quarter of the homes in Austin, Mayor Brandon Johnson toured the area with federal officials conducting a preliminary assessment that could help deliver much-needed aid to homeowners.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s assessment is the first step in getting a federal disaster proclamation after the widespread flooding during a July 2 rainstorm, said Mark Peterson, a FEMA spokesperson.
The storm dumped 9 inches of rain in the Chicago area and flooded thousands of basements. Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation on July 11 for Cook and other counties hit hard by storms and flooding.
Over the next week, seven teams from FEMA and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency will knock on doors and assess the damage in the areas hit hardest, Peterson said. The teams will also survey flood damage in suburban Cicero, Berwyn and Stickney.
The state can then use that survey to petition the Biden administration to make a disaster declaration and send aid through FEMA, Peterson said.
As Johnson knocked on doors in the 4800 block of West Walton Street, he assured residents that the government was doing everything it could.
But several residents told the Sun-Times the assistance has been slow in coming. Broken water heaters, furnaces, moldy drywall and ruined living spaces were common complaints.
“It’s never fast enough,” 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts told the Sun-Times.
But she was relieved officials came out Tuesday to kickstart the process of delivering federal aid.
“It was like a celebration for me. It’s been a long time, given the fact that we’ve been struggling with it every day,” Mitts said.
Mitts has been urging her constituents to report flood damage to 311, the city’s non-emergency help line. The Department of Streets and Sanitation has gone to about 400 homes in the area to clean out damaged basements, mostly for seniors, Mitts said.
Citywide, more than 12,000 reports of flooded basements were filed with 311 in the first two weeks after the storm, according to a WBEZ analysis. That’s more than the number of basement flooding reports filed in all of 2021 and 2022 combined.
Mitts said her ward has never seen a disaster like this.
“We’ve had floods before. We’ve had FEMA. But nothing like this,” she said.
She hopes the government makes infrastructure improvements to prevent similar flooding disasters in the future. The homeowners who spoke with the Sun-Times on Tuesday all said the water entered their basements through drain pipes.
Jimmy Blaine’s basement was flooded with 37 inches of water. The water destroyed the living space for his son and nephew. He had to throw out a king-size bed, TV and video game console.
Blaine, 55, said he needs assistance to repair the home’s furnace and water heater. He doesn’t have insurance and barely gets by on his $970-a-month disability checks while taking care of five children.
Blaine said he’s stressed about making repairs, but he felt good that Johnson knocked on his door and assured him that help would come.
“I feel wonderful that they’re letting me know [about the assistance] because the winter is coming,” he said. “I’ll try to remodel. But I’m disabled, and I can’t move like I used to. I’m hopeful.”
Across the street, Adam Driver has been struggling to clean the mold from his damp basement drywall. He’s been wiping the walls with bleach and water every day, but the mold keeps coming back.
Driver is a renter and said his landlord is waiting to get assistance before gutting and fixing the place. That puts Driver in a tough spot. He doesn’t want to move, but he wants the landlord to make repairs. He said he’s been talking with a lawyer about his options.
“I’m just trying to get everything back right for the wife and kids. They’re really emotional about it,” Driver said.
State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, toured the flood damage earlier Tuesday with federal and state officials. He said the federal assistance is badly needed.
“There’s really been no major relief yet. It’s a signal to the feds that we’ve really got a problem,” Ford said as he walked in the 4800 block of Rice Street.
He talked with one homeowner who was still without hot water.
“There’s a lot of people just like her,” Ford said.
