Residents encouraged by City's efforts

NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk residents say they are encouraged by the City's response to their calls for help.

On Tuesday we reported that residents in Norfolk's Spartan Village were disappointed with the City after last week's flooding severely damaged several homes.

Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot visited Spartan Village for a second time on Wednesday to talk with residents about their needs. At one home the water level outside approached the windows and was almost two feet deep inside.

"I'm just trying to help where I can," Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot told WAVY.com. At Tuesday's City Council meeting officials heard emotional pleas for help from residents.

"All I'm asking is for the City or state to come in and give us some kind of help," Spartan Village Resident Lonzena Hawkins said.

"The City administration is looking at every possibility to try to come out and help these families, but it's going to take the effort of churches, [and] independent volunteers to come out," Burfoot responded.

The faith-based group Operation Blessing has worked for days to gut homes destroyed by the flooding.

And today a private developer who heard residents describe their dilemma to City Council began moving some families to temporary housing, free of charge.

"I'm a product of the City of Norfolk and do a lot of business in the City and there was residents, people who were in need and we stepped up to meet that need," said Dwight Etheridge of TIVEST Development & Construction.

"Sometimes it takes a village to try to get a push for them to see that we're a united community and we want to be treated fairly like anybody else. We're taxpayers. We pay for drainage and sanitation to make sure these kinds of catastrophic events don't happen, said Kimberly Bradley-Redmond.

"This is going to happen again. So what we have to do, if you are renting, you need to get renter's insurance. If you are a homeowner, you need to get flood insurance," said Burfoot.

For now though, people just want to get back on their feet.

Click here for more on flood insurance.