Uninsured Long Island Homeowners Play Waiting Game For Flood Damage Repair
BROOKHAVEN. N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – The historic rainfall that hit western Suffolk County this week has left crater-like sinkholes in its wake and took an emotional and financial toll on homeowners.
Boilers and refrigerators were left floating in basements of homes and sinkholes appeared on waterlogged streets, CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported.
"I am very upset about what happened here the other day with the rain. My insurance company is claiming that I am not covered because of the way the water came into my home," Selden homeowner Linda Guarino reported.
The Guarinos are suffering from black mold after feet of rainwater burst through their home's doors and windows.
"Look at this mess! Look at it!" Guarino said through her face mask. "[It's] overwhelming, [I] might have to leave my residence…overpowering, mildew setting in,"
Many in the town of Brookhaven live 250 feet above sea level where flood insurance wasn't a consideration until now.
Inland roads in Coram are still waterlogged. Parking lots are submerged where children came to practice fly fishing.
"The water had no place to go," Town Supervisor Edward Romaine said.
Romaine told CBS 2 the monetary damage to the town totals millions of dollars.
The state came to assess the area, along with the Red Cross.
With scattered sinkholes on roads, lawns and easements, the Highway Department has its hands full, Superintendent Dan Losquadro said.
"Water is a force; 225 separate locations for flooding or collapses as you see here, two dozen medium to large sized sinkholes," Losquadro said.
McLogan reported it will take weeks to fill and repair the unstable, saturated ground.
The toll on homeowners however, is just being measured.
"I spoke to my insurance agency when I first bought the house and they told me I was not required to have insurance, I am not in a flood zone," Holbook homeowner Jeanne Campo said. "No need to take flood insurances…now devastation. I don't know if it will be replaced."
As damaged homes are ripped apart and dumpsters filled, the uninsured play the waiting game to see if the state or federal government can help after the freak rainstorm.
The towns of Islip, Babylon and Brookhaven were the hardest hit.
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