The recent heavy rainfall in the region has put a damper on the spirits of many Kingstonians as they struggle to dry things out.
“She was getting ready to do laundry. She came downstairs… She looked at me and was like, ‘There’s a lot of water down there,’” said Jay Convery as he sits on the steps leading into his basement.
Convery and his wife have lived in a Division Street apartment complex for seven years but they’ve never been through anything like this.
A situation facing many after the downpour that began Sunday night — a flooded basement, ruining hundreds of dollars worth of electronics and precious items.
“We have a drain somewhere down here and that’s it. No pump with the drain at all. If something gets stuck in the drain, we’re stuck with this,” worries Convery.
ServiceMaster Restore specializes in disaster restoration and in the last 24 hours, their phone has been ringing off the hook.
Typically, ServiceMaster has about 150 commercial dehumidifiers and about 300 air movers. The company expects by Tuesday, the shelves will be empty in the warehouse as all of them will be in use.
ServiceMaster’s president Darryl Herron says even just a day or two of heavy rain could cause damage that could take months to repair, especially due to high demand.
“Today, it’s been crazy. Started last night with heavy rains and has continued on all day. It will probably be a two- to three-month process to get things cleaned up from what happened today,” said Herron.
As for the Converys, they’re still waiting to hear from the building’s maintenance department but it may take a while as crews are currently tied up dealing with flooding issues at other proprieties.
“And now, it’s a waiting game,” said Convery.
While the couple doesn’t have insurance, that’s not their main concern. Like many residents, they’re hoping the rain holds off, so the water doesn’t rise any higher.
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