During Storm Car Owner Had To Choose: Hail Or Flood Damage?
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Flooded streets and parks greeted Aurora commuters Friday after a night of violent storms ended. The National Weather Service says nearly 3 inches of rain fell in Aurora Thursday night.
Several areas that are not supposed to flood, including golf courses, filled up with water. At an apartment complex at Alameda and Lima near Havana several cars were damaged.
At one point there was nearly 6 feet of water flooding the apartment building's garage, causing some cars to float.
Restoration crews started pumping the floodwater out at about 11 p.m. on Thursday. Crews told CBS4 their machine pumps out about 4,500 gallons per minute, but they were still trying to clear out all the water after 8 a.m. on Friday.
BluSky Restoration said the cars left in the garage are likely totaled because they suffered "hurricane-like damage."
Thankfully some residents, like Tom Hoycott, were able to get their cars out in time.
"We came down, (the water) was probably was up to our knees by that point, but luckily we could back out and moved it out under a tree," Hoycott said. "We had to make a decision ... it's either hail damage or flood damage. We went with the hail."
The same garage has also flooded during a different storm.
YouReporter Diana Hromish lives there and took these pictures of the same spot during a storm on July 7, 2011:
Another resident, Ly Mora, just moved to the Wentworth Apartments about a month ago. Two of her cars were among those stuck in the garage last night. She says she's upset because management never warned her about the flooding problem.
"I really don't know why they haven't done anything about it. They should be liable to pay for something," Mora said. "There's no signs. How are you supposed to know that it's a flood zone and that you should get your cars out?"
