Warren woman lives in tent after flood damages home

WARREN, Mich. – How will Koreena Dragoi survive another 45-degree night in a tent?

The Warren woman has been forced out of her home after it was severely damaged by this week's flooding. Now, she's living in a tent in her own front yard.

"We actually put a tent up because we can't afford to keep going back and forth to a hotel," said Dragoi. "This is where we're sleeping now."

She's working to get back on her feet after Monday's rain sent a river through her home.

Related: Flood victims confront suspected scammer

"I opened the front door and it was a river coming through," she said.

Dragoi works as a waitress making less than minimum wage. She has about $100 in savings and $400 in checking.

"There was clothes. There was pictures, everything that you would have in a house was in the house," she said.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said there are 18,000 damaged residential structures in his city after the flooding. Many of the structures now are unlivable or without insurance and funds to continue basic day-to-day living, let alone repairs.

More: Warren mayor: $1.2B in flood damage

"We have a looming health problem here," said Fouts. "We have a possibility that people will not be able to afford to clean out their house and therefore mold will go, and there may be other things they'll get, and they'll get sick. The state needs to give us some emergency funding, so does the federal government."

Related: Oakland County: $337M in flood damage


About the Author:

Paula Tutman is an Emmy award-winning journalist who came to Local 4 in 1992. She's married and the stepmother of three beautiful and brilliant daughters. Her personal philosophy in life, love and community is, "Do as much as you can possibly do, not as little as you can possibly get away with".