Some residents return to Avondale Apartments in Chester County after flooding damaged homes

AVONDALE, Pa. (CBS) — Some residents in Chester County are trying to get their lives back to normal after flooding hit the ground floors of the Avondale Apartments on Thursday.

"It's a sad situation," said Dawn Clark.

Clark said she lives on the second floor and her apartment wasn't affected, but she's speaking up for her neighbors who she said are mostly Spanish-speaking people with limited resources.

"I feel sorry for them because with rent in this area so high they are losing their stuff, but with rent being so high, they have nowhere else to go," she said.

Clark's neighbors on the first floor were forced to evacuate Thursday night after water from a nearby creek poured into their apartments.

A resident shared photos showing the floodwaters that ultimately displaced dozens of residents.

Many went back home to assess the damage and clean up what they could.

"When I got out to check, the water was up to my waistline. It rose that quick and it wasn't going down," she said.

The shelter used to house displaced residents closed Saturday afternoon, but some remaining displaced residents will move to a hotel. CBS News Philadelphia has been told some residents made accommodations to stay elsewhere.

Residents said this was the second time in four years their apartments were flooded.

A resident shared a video showing crews rescuing families from the high water in August 2020.

Clark is calling on Avondale officials to address, what she calls, an ongoing problem.

"The township needs to do something with this creek," she said.

While Clark remains hopeful something will get done, she said she is happy none of her neighbors were injured.

A timeline for when the apartments will be repaired is unclear.