During the storms that took place on 25th August last year in Newport in the United States, the Lower Peninsula was hit with widespread flooding as a result of more than nine inches of rain being dumped on Newport. Additional flooding was caused by a similar storm on 27th August.
Since then Great Oak, a Section 8 property comprising of 143 units, has been undergoing renovations to the tune of $2.9 million, with over 100 residents having been displaced and 60% having to reside in extended stay hotels located on the Peninsula. This is being paid for by the housing authority that owns Great Oak, according to officials.
“The apartments are substantially completed,” claims the authority’s executive director, Karen Wilds. “The first batch of residents are moving back in.” Wilds says that all of the residents should be able to move back into their own apartments, which are situated close to the city center, by the close of this month.
One of the seven women – and one man – who are staying at the Staybridge Suites while they wait for their old apartments to be completed for their relocation home is 66-year-old Vickie Celis. As with many of the residents of Great Oak, Celis lost all of her possessions as a result of the flood. She credits her cat for saving her life, waking her up early in the morning on the day that the floods came.
Jon Huser
