Bartlett residents felt abandoned after flooding

Times were tough enough for Sajjad "Ron" Rana and his family before he came home last Saturday to find his furniture floating in the living room.

Like many areas of Bartlett, the Hearthwood Farms condos off Devon Avenue got hit hard by flooding, especially lower-levels units like the one Rana lives in with his wife Cathleen and 11-month-old son Ahsan.

In recent months, Rana's wife lost her teaching job, then his import-export business failed. He's working in a restaurant.

And now they've lost most of their furniture, including the baby crib; insurance won't cover their losses; and a doctor says mold from the floodwaters is making the baby sick.

"We're stretched to the max," Rana said.

He credits neighbors for helping save some belongings. But Rana and other Hearthwood residents said they felt largely abandoned in the first days after the flood, waiting for the government or charity group - someone - to show up. They said police were out to direct people not to drive into the flooded complex, and someone came around to take down flooded addresses, but there was little concrete help.

"Nobody came around, in no shape or form. We were on our own," said another resident, Julie Vaca, who had to tear carpeting and drywall out of her unit.

Bartlett officials recorded 11 inches of rain in less than a day over last weekend, flooding areas like Hearthwood, Bartlett Lakes Estates, and homes around Beaver Pond Park and Prospect and North avenues.

By Monday, Village President Catherine Melchert had declared a state of emergency, her first in 15-plus years in office. She hopes it will ensure as much state assistance as possible for residents.

Thursday, police came back to the neighborhood, Rana said, offering cleanup advice. And the village has arranged to offer free tetanus shots through Hanover Township.

The village will also waive building permit fees for all storm-related reconstruction.

"The village is trying, finally, after (nearly) a week, to be helpful," Rana said.

Melchert acknowledged "missteps" but praised the overall performance of her staff, saying they had ever possible worker out on the street knocking on doors and working throughout the storm.

"You would be wearing rose-colored glasses if you thought everything went right," she said. And the village board did get an earful from upset residents Tuesday.

Carolann Sansone, a 20-year Hearthwood resident, suspects poor stormwater planning at the newer Asbury Place row house subdivision across Prospect Avenue is responsible for her complex's flooding.

But Melchert said the village still doesn't know why some areas were hit so hard. To seek answers, the village will, as soon as this week, commission an engineering study of its stormwater drainage system, Village Administrator Valerie Salmons said.

Over the weekend, DuPage County and Illinois Emergency Management Agency officials were to visit the village to assess damage, Salmons said. Federal and Cook County officials - the complex is right on the county line - will arrive later.

Nancy Schrik, who manages the 382 Hearthwood units, called the flood "a major disaster" with hallways destroyed and about 20 families losing most belongings.

"I don't even know where they're staying," she said.

Schrik said one resident saw his two BMWs ruined after the water level reached over the windows.

It will take three to four weeks before any construction can take place, Schrik said, as insurance adjusters are still assessing. She estimates the subdivision will take three to four months to return to normal.

"At least no one got hurt," homeowners association President Judi Fillipan said. "And that's the big thing."