EAST LAKE, Ohio — A group of condo owners is left watching and waiting for floodwaters to recede after heavy storms swept through Wednesday, leaving their homes with water inside.
Some residents have about a foot of water in their basements, while others have multiple feet. Many are asking what can be done to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
What started as a normal rainy morning at the North Coast Point Condos quickly took a turn. By mid-morning, water was filling the streets, yards, and condo basements.
“There's about seven inches of water in there right now. The condos over here, they have like 40 inches of water,” said Chuck Bladwin, a homeowner.
Baldwin first noticed water around 8 a.m., but by 11 a.m., he knew his basement would flood.
“You just wonder, how high is it going to get. So, anything on the floor? Obviously, you want to get it up off the floor,” said Baldwin.
Mark White got the call from his aunt with bad news.
“The basement's flooded. There's no question. And she has a finished basement, so it's significantly damaged,” said White.
By the time he got there, the water was already inside.
“It was up as high as the doors here on this side, so the basement, actually, it's receded out here, but the basement's higher than when I got here,” said White.
Janice Matteo, the president of the North Coast Point HOA, has lived here since the condos were built in 2002. She says the sewers were checked just last summer, but flooding has happened before — specifically four times since she moved in.
“I think part of the reason is the railroad…There's a cliff behind my property, and that cliff floods all the time,” said Matteo.
News 5 reached out to the City of East Lake for comment on the flooding. As of Wednesday night, we have not heard back. For residents here, they say they just want answers so this doesn’t happen again.
“What do I want to see from the city? I don't know. Help,” said White. “Somebody will show up and say, yeah, we'll help you figure out how to fix all this.”
“They need to figure it out because we can't— what's going to happen if somebody wants to move from here? I mean, we're, our property is being...the value is going downhill,” said Matteo.
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
