Katrina Survivors Flooded In Tulsa

Tuesday, August 8th 2006, 10:33 am

By: News On 6

Renters beware, some disgruntled tenants say their property managers left them high and dry in a flooded Tulsa apartment. They say they were flooded for weeks before they got help.

They tell News on 6 reporter Jennifer Loren about their frustrations. You see, they moved to Tulsa to escape another flooding situation, Hurricane Katrina.

"It was just left this way." Nicole Rheams moved to Tulsa after her home in Baton Rouge was flooded by Hurricane Katrina. She moved to the Shoreline Apartments in east Tulsa. "We were flooded. We were flooded. And we know things happen. So we were kind of just like, you know, letâ€™s get this fixed and see whatâ€™s going on."

But since then Rheams and her roommate say flooding caused by broken pipes and poor property management has plagued their stay in Oklahoma. â€œThe first time we flooded we waited a couple of weeks to get a response. Then when we flooded again we had to wait another couple of weeks."

She says most of their apartment has been under water at one point or another since February. Mold and mildew also became a problem.

Then, she says, when maintenance finally fixed the problem they left a hole in her wall for days. "I called the manager and her response was, 'These things happen.' That was her response."

Now, months later, they believe they have the flooding taken care of. But they fear the same problem is just beginning for a friend of theirs in the same complex. Veronica Crawford: "So what did you see when you looked in here? I didn't see anything cause it was dark. But I just stepped in water."

Her apartment just flooded twice in two days.

A corporate spokesperson for the Shoreline Apartments says she knew nothing about Rheams' problems. She admits they have at least ten work orders for their apartment, but says they took care of the problems as soon as they knew about them.

Rheams is breaking her lease to move out of the apartment next week. Shoreline says they're letting her go without penalty.

If you're having problems with your propertyâ€™s management, click on the Oklahoma Bar Associationâ€™s tenant Question and Answer webpage.