MILWAUKEE — Angel Flemister stands in what used to be her daughter's bedroom, surrounded by exposed wood and bare floors. After 30 years in her Milwaukee home, extensive flood damage has left her living in a hotel while struggling to afford repairs.
"Disaster. That's what it was, a disaster. It completely took my home out," Flemister said.
The flooding caused extensive damage to her electrical work, walls, ceiling, and floors.
"And it's just really bad and scary, just not a good experience, and it just kinda reminds me of, you know, Hurricane Katrina," Flemister said.
Flemister's story mirrors many others around southeast Wisconsin, where residents continue dealing with the flood aftermath. She hasn't been able to pay for repairs, and this week marked the first time she could return to work after having to replace her flooded car.
FEMA provided just over $30,000, but Flemister said that won't cover even half the needed repairs.
"It's frustrating. Like, I'm just trying to get back in my home," Flemister said.
In total, FEMA has approved nearly $201 Million in funding in response to the August floods, with almost 37,000 receiving funding.
For months, Flemister has been living in a hotel through Housing Resources Inc., but that funding has run out. Now she's paying $65 a day to stay while still paying her mortgage.
Watch: Six months after floods, Milwaukee victim struggles to rebuild home after 30 years of memories
The home holds decades of memories.
"You know this is my home. My kids grew up here. They were two and five when I bought my house, and they're 32 and 35 now, so I just wanna get it back up to par and be able to, you know, somewhere and come back to, back to my home," Flemister said.
Flemister continues searching for resources to help her return to the place she once called home.
"It's just more of letting people know that we're still out here struggling, we're still not back whole, you know, yeah, because of so much damage," Flemister said.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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