Storm, Flooding Devastate HomesBy Michael George
PLEASANT PRAIRIE - Some people are calling it the worst flooding on record in Pleasant Prairie. Friday night’s storm caused some big damage. Hundreds of people are still picking up the pieces from the damage.
“My whole bedroom, my whole bedroom set. Mattresses, everything, I can’t even think about it,” said flood victim Reli Landgraf.
Landgraf lost a lot in the storm. It was even more painful since her husband is gone. Her son Perry Landgraf spent the weekend trying to repair the damage.
“If a loved one is gone, this is all you have. So now, it’s another death, because you lost this part,” Perry Landgraf explained.
In the 12 years of living here, the house has never flooded. But on Friday, more than 6 inches of rain fell in less than an hour over Pleasant Prairie. Sewage water began backing up into their basement.
“There’s nothing you can do. I tried plugging it. There’s a toilet downstairs, how are you going to plug it?” said Perry Landgraf.
When all was said and done, they had 13 inches of sewage water in their basement. Furniture, the furnace, and the water heater were all ruined. Perry Landgraf and some volunteers cleaned, bleached, and washed what they could, but many things just couldn’t be saved.
“If it was straight water, I could save it. But it’s bacteria, e. coli,” Landgraf said.
Now, Perry Landgraf wants to know if the Village of Pleasant Prairie is doing enough to prevent sewage backups. He says homeowners are powerless on their own.
“What can we do if it does happen again? How much can we do?” Landgraf said.
Kenosha County officials plan to try to get Friday’s storm declared an emergency in a bid for federal aid for flood victims.
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