BALTIMORE, Md. — It’s not supposed to be waterfront property, but a rush of water is what people living along Nortonia Road in Fairmount Park woke up to as the water spilled into their homes.
“Water was just running through the house,” said Darryl Fleet. “Running into my basement, her basement, my neighbor down the hill, they were affected by it.”
The problem appears to have been a city pipe, which broke off beneath a fire hydrant, much as it did five years ago causing a similar flood.
Adding insult to injury---the torrent continued for hours as Public Works and firefighters took turns scratching their heads over who was capable of stopping it.
“They finally came around 10 of 10:00 and finally got it cut off, but before then, no, it was four hours with the water just constantly running,” said Fleet.
Almost two hours after Public Works shut off the broken pipe, water was still draining at the base of the hill.
The last time it flooded here, the city gave homeowners a thousand-dollar credit on their water bills, but one landlord said it ended up costing them $65,000 in clean up and repairs.
“I’m just worried about how they’re going to compensate us for this,” said Tamela Laney, “That’s my concern. I want to make sure they take care of the issue.”
And take care of those forced from their homes by the floodwaters.
By mid-day, Department of Public Works had not responded to our inquiry into what relief it can provide, but one victim said they were told over the phone that they could submit a form to try to get compensation or they could try calling the American Red Cross.
“The foundation of my house is messed up. The basement is destroyed. Everything that is in my basement is destroyed, and I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Fleet. “I’m just lost for words right now. Lost for words. I don’t know.”
