River Terrace Apartments in Benton Harbor face flooding issues

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. - The River Terrace Apartments in Benton Harbor faced flooding issues after a burst pipe damaged the first three floors.

Some tenants here said there was so much water, they didn't know where it was coming from.

Now that the pipes have stopped gushing water, management and residents can start to clean up.

“I got up and looked in the hallway and water was coming down in the hallway and it was coming up in there," said Judy Dukes, a resident at River Terrace.

A burst pipe at the River Terrace Apartments caused water to flood apartments, hallways, and even elevators Monday night.

The damage was mainly to the first three floors but caused the building's two elevators to stop working, affecting residents through all 10 floors.

Dukes, who lives on the third floor, laid down old cardboard to absorb some of the water.

"I got towels and stuff and started putting them down, now where the water was coming from, I don't know, I just see it coming down the hallway, so I don't know," said Dukes.

Sandra Hills was in the lobby Monday night when the leak started, watching the water rush through from all sides. 

“Water just gushing out of the elevator and out of the ceiling and by the entrance down the hall on the first floor over here by the mailbox pieces started falling from the ceiling and stuff and it was water everywhere," said Hills.

Steve Cook, the regional manager overseeing River Terrace Apartments, tells ABC57 that crews were working all day Tuesday to repair the elevators and dry residents' apartments.

Given the frigid temperatures, Pastor Carlton Lynch of the Pilgrim Baptist Church has opened his church to anyone who may have been displaced.

“So that people from this apartment complex will be able to come not to just get out of the cold but have a place where they can kinda relax and to lay down and kind of make it a temporary home for those in need," said Pastor Lynch.

Again, the water leak is fixed now.

Management said one elevator was working Tuesday evening, and work has already started to fix the other.

They're using dehumidifiers and blowers to dry out the apartments and expect to start drywalling soon.