NEW LONDON, Wis. (WFRV) – Weeks after floodwaters swept through New London, cleanup efforts are still ongoing.
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Across the city, piles of garbage bags, ruined furniture and waterlogged debris line neighborhood curbs, showing just how widespread the flooding damage has been.
Now, volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse are helping residents tackle some of the toughest cleanup work.
“Samaritan’s Purse is an international disaster organization,” program manager Jacob Rutz said. “Here in New London, we’ve seen a lot of basements flooded, crawl spaces and first-level floors affected.”
Over 70 volunteers spent Wednesday tearing out drywall, removing insulation and crawling through tight spaces beneath homes to help prepare properties for repairs.
“There’s this little opening about the size of a cellar window, and so we just had to crawl in there,” volunteer Stephen Book said. “As you go in, we were pulling in lights and I was like, ‘I don’t know if there are critters down here, I don’t know what’s down here.’ But fortunately, there were no critters, just insulation and mud.”
Volunteers said the work has been physically demanding, but rewarding as they help neighbors recover from weeks of damage and uncertainty.
“I really enjoyed doing this volunteer work,” high school volunteer Zander Rolf said. “It’s super cool to see other people wanting to help and how appreciative homeowners are to see volunteers like us up here.”
Officials with Samaritan’s Purse said they expect to remain in New London until May 16, with the possibility of extending operations if more assistance is needed.
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The organization is still taking calls from New London homeowners seeking help with flood cleanup and recovery efforts.
You can reach out to the organization directly by calling 833-747-1234.
