Flood victims desperate for help after Ida hits Wilmington

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Dozens of residents in Wilmington, Delaware, are trying to figure out how to recover after major flooding from Ida last week.

On Tuesday, Action News spoke with Alan Dillard and his wife. Their home on 14th Street, like so many others, was flooded.

"It's not safe to sleep in there. We don't know what we're breathing in right now. The whole basement is saturated," said Dillard.

Dozens of cars were also destroyed from the damage.

Neighbor Stephen McGee says he was nearly swept away by the storm.

"When I opened up the door, all the water just flushed into me," said McGee.

The fact is it'll take months for countless residents of Wilmington to recover from this.

"The people here are probably not going to be ready, back together, until probably around January," McGee added.

RELATED: Cleanup continues in flood-ravaged parts of Philadelphia

On 15th Street, the neighbors don't even have power yet.

Donnell Bailey says they were told they have to pay to get their electrical boxes fixed before it would be restored.

"A lot of people's concerns are the means and the money to replace your electrical box," said Bailey.

Delaware Governor John Carney heard from those affected and said he knows families need help now, but figuring out the solutions will take some more time.

"Every family is different, every household is different, and so the challenge is to meet all those individual needs," said Carney.

But neighbors say as each day goes by it gets tougher to cope, and they hope the federal government steps in.

"I'm urging President Biden to please come. Please help us because this is your state. This is where you're from. We need it," said Wilmington resident Tanika Lewis.

ALSO RELATED: President Biden surveys NY and NJ storm damage, talks climate change