- Salt Lake City declared an emergency after historic rainfall caused severe flooding.
- Mayor Erin Mendenhall's order enables faster aid and potential federal recovery funds access.
- A relief fund was also launched to support affected residents with cleanup and repairs.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city declared a state of emergency after its rainiest day in over a century resulted in flooding that damaged more than two dozen homes.
Meanwhile, a prominent westside nonprofit launched a new fund seeking to help affected residents.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall issued the emergency order Monday evening, noting that heavy rains caused localized flooding and damage to both public and private property, mostly near 2000 West and 800 North in the city's Westpointe neighborhood. It provides the city, county and other entities with a greater ability to request aid for materials needed for repairs caused by the flooding.
The order also puts the city and affected residents in a position to seek or receive federal recovery funds, if available.
"By declaring a state of emergency, the city can access additional resources and move faster to support the families affected," Mendenhall said in a statement. "It allows us to direct more city resources into cleanup, work hand-in-hand with the city and state, and open the door to financial assistance that could ease the burden for residents whose homes were damaged."
The city is still evaluating the damage, but at least 27 homes suffered "mild to severe" damage, said Laura Briefer, director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities. Water began to build up as the city received 2.61 inches of rain over 14 hours between late Friday and Saturday, primarily impacting areas close to the Willow Place community in the Westpointe neighborhood.
Most of it fell on Saturday, which ended up being the city's rainiest day since 1901. It was also more rain than the city had received over the past four months combined. The National Weather Service's official gauge is located by Salt Lake City International Airport, which is located in the same neighborhood, just west of the area that flooded.
A drainage canal in the area overflowed into homes, yards and roads, leaving some with over a foot of water in their basements. The canal is part of a larger storm watershed that collects water from areas west of I-215, including parts of the airport, said Jesse Stewart, deputy director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities.
"One of the issues we had is the ditch itself and the city drain were at capacity, so the local storm drain had no place to go," he said, during an update of the situation to the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday. "So we not only saw water coming out of that ditch, but we also saw water coming up from the storm drain."
David Durr, who has lived in the area for over 40 years, stated that the flooding was worse than some of the historic events that affected the city in the 1980s. He said the community would have to "come together" to help them because many don't have flood insurance.
Many of the people who live in the area are blue-collar workers or have retired after spending decades in the neighborhood, and some have had flood insurance denied, said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro, whose district includes Westpointe.
"We had people who were not only experiencing the crisis, but also experiencing what was possibly an ongoing crisis for them, which was the loss of stability they had built for themselves," she said.
City and county officials responded Saturday, hauling in truckloads of sandbags in an effort to combat the water. Pumps were also brought in to drain water from homes over the weekend. Hundreds of volunteers from different groups also arrived to help the affected residents, according to the city.
The Westside Coalition, a nonprofit that represents neighborhoods across the west side of the city, announced it had created a relief fund for affected residents during a Salt Lake City meeting held on the west side Tuesday night. Donations collected will go toward the costs of emergency cleanup and repairs, replacement of damaged household items and temporary housing and basic needs, according to the nonprofit.
"Any help you can give — there are still organizations and neighbors, as we speak, working in the neighborhoods. There's a lot of work to be done," said Kevin Parke, the nonprofit's Rose Park chairman.
Residents who have suffered damage and have questions about available resources are urged to call Salt Lake City's emergency management captain at 801-251-6730. The city also launched a webpage with resources for flood victims.
The city is also closely monitoring the forecast, as another storm is expected to arrive by the start of this weekend, although it likely won't provide as much rain, Briefer said. Water is still being drained from the system, and she said the department will make sure that debris is cleared from it before the next storm arrives.
