- Historic rain in northern Utah caused major flooding in Rose Park's Willow Place.
- The Ly family returned from vacation to find their home severely flooded.
- Neighbors helped with cleanup; a GoFundMe was set up for the Ly family.
SALT LAKE CITY — Saturday's historic rain in portions of northern Utah caused major flooding that left some families overwhelmed with cleanup.
One of the hardest hit areas was the Willow Place neighborhood in Rose Park. It backs up to a canal that overflowed Saturday.
On Sunday, many of the homes on Sir Philip Drive and 800 North looked the same. Piles of sandbags jutted up against people's clothing, stuffed animals, furniture and pieces of family memories.
One Rose Park family that has lived in their house for decades says they've never seen flooding this catastrophic.
They were on vacation in Las Vegas when it happened.
"My sister was just checking on the camera, just in case the house is OK, and then I heard her start saying, 'Oh, it's flooded,'" Tam Ly said.
She and her sister, Hanh Ly, watched on their doorbell app as neighbors and crews tried to divert the floodwaters.
"It was really bad," Tam Ly said. "We saw everyone trying to help put sandbags down, but our house was just flooded."
When they got home Saturday night, they were devastated.
"The water is all the way to our knees and all our childhood memories — everything's gone," Hanh Ly said. "We lost everything. I don't know what we're going to do now."
She lives in that house with her parents. She owns it now, but said the house is also her childhood home.
Dozens of neighbors and friends came to help with the cleanup Sunday.
"A lot of us have come in, and we had pumps," said Hanh Ly's friend, Jodi Bourgeois. "Everyone pretty much just brought a pump and a water hose and started pumping stuff out. We had dry vac machines, vacuum cleaners to try and help get the water out. You can clearly see there's a mountain of stuff in her front yard."
Hanh Ly said her basement is destroyed, and a lot of the rest of her home was damaged.
"I live with my parents, they're elderly," Hanh Ly said. "I take care of everything. So it's a bit much."
She said the flooding started in her backyard. Her property backs up to a canal that overflowed Saturday.
Salt Lake County's flood control division director told KSL that four of the county's five pumps that are used to move water were turned on Saturday.
"If we have too much water in the area, which we did — there's a massive amount of water in this area right now — the pumps can work as fast as they can moving that water through the system, but it still makes it very difficult for the local storm drains to drain," Kade Moncur said.
Despite the damage and losses, the Ly family is grateful for their neighbors and strangers who helped.
"The community was with their buckets getting the water out," Hanh Lee said. "We are so grateful for everybody who came and helped us."
Hanh Ly said she doesn't know when her family can come back to their house. She's in touch with the American Red Cross.
She said most of it is a total loss, and they are going to need help. A GoFundMe* was set up to help her and her parents with cleanup and replacing belongings.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
