By Heart of Illinois ABC

BLOOMINGTON – Homeowners in the Twin Cities are looking at hefty price tags and long wait times to repair the flood damage from last weekend’s thunderstorms.

Nina Gorden is one of hundreds of Bloomington residents dealing with flood damage.

After heavy rain washed out her basement, she had to move everything to other parts of her house and rip up her carpet.

Gorden is now looking at paying thousands to fix her basement as her insurance will not cover everything.

“Just to dry out our basement is costing us $3,500,” Gorden said. “That’s not even cleaning it and getting it livable again.”

Local restoration companies are stretched thin as they have responded to hundreds of calls from residents who need repairs.

“We’ve gotten over 400 calls since Friday evening at 9:00,” said Greg Cook, director of business development and marketing for Paul Davis Restoration. “Were trying to get to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. But as we all know, there’s only so much equipment and so many people to go around.”

It will likely take months before everything is fixed and back to normal.

President of ServPro Jake Tucker said the company had to call crew members from around the country to help with the clean up.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years now and this has been the most rain we’ve had since I started in the restoration business here in Bloomington,” Tucker said. “And it’s double the next closest event we’ve had as far as call surge goes.”

Bloomington residents can file a claim with the city to get help with flooding repairs.

We also reached out to the Town of Normal, but no one was available to discuss the town’s flood response.

Restoration companies said residents can use fans or a dehumidifier to dry out parts of their home that were flooded as they await help.

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].