Sandy cleans up after '100-year' rainstorm leaves flood damage

SANDY — Cleanup was underway in multiple neighborhoods Friday after what city leaders characterized as a "50- to 100-year" rainstorm.

Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski said areas of the city received between 1.75 and even 2.5 or 3 inches of rain in roughly an hour's time Thursday evening.

"Pretty much every neighborhood has some debris that shows water marks that went above the park strips, intersections that were flooded," Zoltanski said during an interview with KSL. "There was just so much water; the storm drain capacity could not absorb it all."

Zoltanski said that at 1300 East, between Alta View Hospital and Dimple Dell Park, a "river" of water stranded multiple vehicles.

"It was a really powerful storm," Zoltanski said. "A big monsoon force hit Sandy hard last night."

Multiple homeowners on Hawkwood Drive reported flooding in their basements after the street turned into something closer to a lake.

"With the cars driving by, that proceeded to create a tidal wave, and that's what blew out the window, and we had water going into the basement," said Clair Rosenberg, who still had the shattered window propped up in his front yard.

Rosenberg said he had to remove his carpet and 2 feet of drywall after several inches of water filled his basement.

Laura Bartlett had a similar experience.

"It came through this window, down this wall and then it just came this way," Bartlett said. "It's all through, what, four rooms, five rooms. (The) carpet is ruined. Stuff is ruined."

Scott Miles said his downstairs got the worst of the three homes with 3 to 4 feet of water in the basement.

"Last night it was just stunned amazement — just like, are you kidding me?" Miles said.

Multiple homeowners said their insurance companies informed them they would not cover the damage.

Bartlett said she was grateful to the city for crews' response Thursday night, but she also hoped the infrastructure in her neighborhood would get a new look after the flooding.

She said something similar had happened in the 1990s.

"These drains did not work," Bartlett said. "There's one here, and there's one over here, and neither one of them worked."

Zoltanski said the storm drain system and other city infrastructure were designed to handle expected rainfall, but she called Thursday's storm an "outlier."

She said residents who needed to throw away flood-damaged items at the landfill could pick up vouchers at the mayor's office to deposit a free load.

Miles said he would figure out a way to deal with the damage and the associated costs, and he expressed gratitude for the neighbors and complete strangers who showed up late Thursday to help.

"There were 15 people here — we had a bucket brigade going out of that stairwell into the street, and it was just circulating buckets for hours, actually," Miles said. "You go to work, and you solve your problems, and that's what I was doing, that's what all of us were doing last night."

Rosenberg turned emotional, talking about the situation.

"(It's) just a lot to take in," he said. "Fortunately, we had some amazing neighbors that came into action and got everybody the best they could be for the moment and we'll put it back together and go forward."

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