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Team coverageMany of the residents who had to evacuate a flooded Taylorsville apartment complex near Bangerter Highway and 5400 South will be returning home tonight. As of this morning, there were at least 20 apartments that were taped off. This afternoon, all but seven units are open.
The Mulberry Park apartment complex suffered some of the worst storm damage after a soaked hillside gave way. Ten residents spent the night at a shelter set up by the Red Cross at Kearns High School. Dozens more stayed with family or friends after being evacuated during yesterday's storm.
Alex Acosta was hoping to get in his Taylorsville apartment this morning only to find a sign on the door saying "stay out" for safety reasons. All day he's been in limbo. He said, "You know, all our stuff is in there. We have nothing. We're wearing what we had on yesterday."
In the Acosta's backyard, a hillside gave way during yesterday's storm. Taylorsville Mayor Russ Wall said, "The hill on Bangerter is possibly unstable, and also the hill on 5400 South could be unstable."
Wall said that uncertainty is why red warning signs tell residents not to return to 24 of the Mulberry apartments. Wall said, "Some of the fill from underneath of Bangerter may be missing, so they are checking that out now."
Engineers from a private geo-tech company are determining if the hillside is stable. The city engineer in Taylorsville is concerned about one section of the hill, but he said it's not such a threat that it would prevent most residents from coming home tonight.
Alex Smith was able to get into his apartment. He said, "Everything inside is fine. There's no flooding or anything, so we're happy that way." So is Ben Graybill, even though the water encroached on his backdoor. "I just put some sandbags here so it would kind of stop the water," Graybill said.
Meanwhile, the cleanup also continues across town at McRae Sales and Distribution. It's a South Salt Lake flooring company on 2747 Lemel Circle. When the storm rolled in, a drain on the roof of the carpet warehouse clogged, water pooled and a section of the roof collapsed. Warehouse Manager Dave Petroff said, "It was like an upside down tidal wave."
Trash bins are filling up with all the debris from hours of cleaning up. For now, caution tape is meant to keep employees and customers away from the trouble spot. Roofers will then come in with a bandage. "Basically, all we can do is cover it up. We still have to get permits from the engineers. There's nothing we can do but put a cover on it now," Petroff said.
The storm will cost that flooring company $500,000. The cost to the apartment complex has yet to be determined.
A lot of that floodwater poured over that hillside from the intersection of 5400 South and Bangerter Highway. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) says it's working on a new gutter, which would help drain the water more effectively.
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