Cleanup continues as second round of rain hits flood-damaged homes on Southwest Side

CHICAGO (WGN) — Just 24 hours after heavy rain flooded several homes on Chicago’s Southwest Side, more rain on Saturday afternoon made it difficult for residents to dry out their belongings.

“For us, the AC is gone, the boiler is gone, the heat is gone,” Araceli Rodriguez said. “We were scared when we heard about the (additional) rain. My husband went out and bought an electric pump. He has it ready; we set it up because we don’t know what to expect.”

People who live near 65^th Street and Kostner Avenue in the West Lawn neighborhood were hit by severe weather on Friday.

“The boxes were floating, the baby’s toys were floating,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez says the heavy rain led to several inches of water in her basement, which is the floor her sister’s family lives on.

“It was one foot, but it was enough damage that she lost all of her furniture. She lost the bed, the bedding, linens, all of it’s gone,” Rodriguez said.

Even though the cleanup is far from over, Rodriguez says she’s just grateful her family is safe.

“I just think about what happened in Texas. I just said this is nothing compared to the lives lost in Texas,” she said.

Residents claim backed up sewers caused the flooding in this area. City officials say over 1,000 reports of flooded basements and nearly 300 reports of flooded streets have been made to 311 since Friday.

To report storm damage or flooding, contact 311, download the CHI311 app or visit 311.chicago.gov.