More than 400 homes are still without power in Mesa and streets and retention ponds are filled with water. Emergency services hopes to get power restored this afternoon.
The tops of basketball hoops are barely visible above 10 feet of water at Emerald Park in Mesa. Mayor Alex Finter said millions of gallons of water need to be pumped west to the Salt River.
“The priorities are: get the water out of there, get the power on," said Finter. "We also have volunteer crews that are going through neighborhoods and evaluating what the needs are. Do we have elderly, what kind of water damage is done."
Once the water is moved away from transformers, which regulate and transfer electrical power to customers, crews can safely get the power back on. Eric Berry lives in Central Mesa near Harris Drive and Southern Avenue .
“The state of my house is hot and humid. It's uncomfortable, it’s muggy,” said Berry.
Berry said people are stranded because neighborhood streets are filled with more than a foot of standing water. The Red Cross has a shelter at 59 East Broadway Road and the city has set up a mobile resource unit walkable for residents near flooded areas. Keller Elementary School on Harris Drive and Hilton Avenue has water, food and restrooms.
“This isn’t just going to be today or tomorrow. This is going to be days or weeks ahead of us to deal with," Finter said.
He is talking with Governor Jan Brewer to try and get a disaster declaration. That would free up state and federal resources.
