A few days can make a big difference when it comes to flooding. Last week, the Kalamazoo Street ramp in Lansing Township looked like a river, and by Monday it was back to normal. Unfortunately not every flooded area has dried up as quickly. FOX 47's Alani Letang visited one of them.
Some people have been allowed to returned home after being evacuated, while others still can't go home. Ottawa Hills Park near the corner of Okemos Rd and Grand River Ave. is still flooded, but not as bad as it was last week. Residents said the water reached as far as their front doors. Many basements were flooded, and people who live close to the park say they're worried about the foundation of their home. "The biggest thing is the foundation going to be good, are my kids going to be okay, is it going to be safe to live here," said Nancy Moylan. Moylan's basement flooded.
Nancy Moylan lives in Meridian Township where floodwater reached her first floor. On Monday she said she still had about five feet of water in her basement. Depending on the condition of her foundation it could be weeks to months before she can return home. "I mean you think you live on a little drainage ditch in the middle of Okemos that you're not going to have to worry about so much flooding, but it happens mother nature trying to get me to clean out my basement."
Alon Yossef lives in the same neighborhood as Moylan and his basement flooded up to the window. "We weren't ready, nobody excepted that it would be that big and so much water, nobody," said Yossef.
However, on the other side of town things are improving more quickly. "It hurts, but nature ain't friendly sometimes," said Missy Vaillencourt, whose basement flooded. Vaillencourt and Robin Shively live together in Lansing's Urbandale neighborhood. They evacuated for less than 24 hours. When they came back from evacuation, they said it looked like a hurricane went through their basement.
"Destroyed a lot of our equipment that we use for computer tech that we do for repairing, my music studio was destroyed as well," said Robin Shively, basement flooded. Some people told us they have flood insurance that will cover the damage. They also told us they're waiting to see if FEMA comes through with any disaster-relief money, once all the water is dried up. We'll keep you updated on that.
