Building clean up continues after tenants displaced

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (WSVN) -- Clean up crews are working hard to get residents back home in one South Florida apartment building after heavy rain forced them out.

More than 200 people had to leave their homes, located off of 132nd Street and Sixth Avenue and find shelter Thursday evening.

According to the building owner and manager, they are doing everything they can to make sure the building is safe for the residents. Crews have been working all day Friday, and the work could continue later into the evening.

Residents were allowed, under supervision, to return to their homes just to retrieve valuables. "The manager come and talked to us now. He said he's gonna make the security go with us and one by one to get some stuff this morning," one resident said.

Construction was previously being done on the roof, but after heavy rain on Thursday, the residents were evacuated after apartments were drenched with water.

Tenants were frustrated, forced to pick up their lives and leave. "It's a mess; it's not good," one resident said.

A shelter was set up by the American Red Cross at a Miami Gardens Church. At first, residents were told it would be three days before they could return. "The order and the city authority are working jointly to get the building reopened," the building manager, Roberto Touissant said.

With crews still working to fix the building, residents are still left wondering where they will go for shelter. "I don't know where I'm going to go tonight," a resident said.

More than 50 workers are in the process of drying the apartments and getting rid of the standing water on the roof.

Crews also have to work to get electricity restored, with Florida Power and Light arriving Friday afternoon. "We're really sorry for what happened," Touissant said. "We make sure we work jointly with the tenant, with the owner, with the city authority and to make sure that everybody can get back safely."

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Building clean up continues after tenants displaced