WEST BEND, Wis. — West Bend families face an uphill battle as they work to clean up devastating flood damage that destroyed their basements a week ago, with many feeling abandoned as they wait for assistance.
"Every time I hear a crack or water it instantly brings me back to that day," Cydey Bettin said. "I didn't know what was happening, I just thought, I have to get out of here." Her basement wall caved in when flood waters rushed through her West Bend home on 16th Avenue and Walnut St.
Cydney and her husband Robert, have been unable to clear the mud, debris, and belongings from their basement while waiting to learn what insurance will cover.
"You just don't know what to say," she said. "The first time I drove by, I had a full on panic attack. I couldn't breathe."
For four families on 16th Ave, the past week has been filled with exhaustion and frustration as they feel they've had to deal with the aftermath largely on their own.
"It was hard, it is hard," Jessica Sabo said. "Because we're never going to get it back to where it was. I think we'll be upside down on it." Her family's basement was also destroyed by floodwaters after they had recently renovated it.
Sabo believes government officials need to provide more immediate assistance for impacted community members.
"Because time is of the essence when you have water damage," she said. "We couldn't wait on help. Even if we had, we've yet to see any."
Rita and Daniel Fellenz live on 16 Ave as well, and it took a week to get sewage pumped out of their basement, as cleanup services are overwhelmed with demand.
"Nobody is helping us," Rita said. "All I do is cry because it's just really hard."
Across the street, Jake and Mikayla Wendt cleared out three loads of destroyed belongings from their basement. They have to return to their jobs on Monday.
"It's not all just down in Milwaukee, it's this way too," Mikayla said. "It's people you lived next door to."
The Wendts are exhausted and concerned about future flooding issues.
"Make sure that this doesn't happen again," Jake said. "Once we redo all of our appliances down there, and this happens again? We're double screwed."
The Washington County Executive and West Bend's Mayor say they're working to secure more resources, remediation, and housing assistance for the community.
Our hearts break for the families in West Bend who experienced devastating loss during last week’s floods. Our community is strong and resilient, and together we will get through this.
The City is working closely with county, state, and federal partners to secure as much FEMA funding as possible to support families in their recovery. Unfortunately, no city or village has the resources on its own to respond to a disaster of this magnitude, which is why outside assistance is so critical.
We will continue doing everything we can here at the local level, but we also know it will take significant support from beyond West Bend to help families rebuild and move toward a sense of normalcy.
I stopped this afternoon and spoke with many of the residents. The county is absolutely working to get more immediate help, & will work with all levels of government for the long term recovery.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist 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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