Teams assessing Cicero flooding damage in effort to make case for federal disaster declaration

CICERO, Ill. (WLS) -- Federal and local workers in Cicero asked residents about their damage from the storm earlier this month on Wednesday.

Interpreters were with them to help better communicate.
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On Tuesday, teams were in Chicago's Austin neighborhood.

"We want the resident to share their pictures from the day of the event and share story of their loss, their cleanup process," said Tom Sivak, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In all, 10 teams are out this week, gathering information for a joint preliminary damage assessment.

The assessors' goal is to get enough evidence to make a case for a federal disaster declaration that would bring financial help to homeowners.



"This storm was significant, upwards of a once-every-500-year-type flooding event in certain areas of Cook County, almost 9 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. That's incredibly overwhelming," said Ted Berger, with Cook County Emergency Management and Regional Security.
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Some are concerned the assessment may not include all of the damages.

"Most of our people work during the day, so how can they be getting the right information?" Cicero Town Trustee Victor Garcia said.

State officials emphasized not everyone needs to meet with the teams. They only need a fair representation of the damage.



"We use common sense, same water level, same neighborhood; the neighbor said it was there. We would count that piece of property," said Greg Nimmo, with the IL Emergency Management Agency.



There is also concern about a long-term solution.
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"I think it's a bigger issue; I think there needs to be better, better control with the water drainage," resident Frank Kraut said.

"There are lot of pipes that are decayed, so we are talking about billions of dollars of advancement and investment; we will need federal help with that," said Monica Gordon, Cook County commissioner for the 5th District.

With the July 2 storm, initially there were 18,000 reports of damage.

The teams will be visiting thousands of home this week and possibly next, and if one of the teams stops by, residents are asked to share details about damage and items lost.