‘The house is collapsing’: Family recounts harrowing escape during historic storm
A West Allis mother and her four children were all home when their basement collapsed during the weekend's relentless rain.
By Hannah Hilyard
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WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin (WISN) — As historic rain fell in southeastern Wisconsin, Ava Vanek, 15, was down in the basement of her West Allis home early Sunday morning documenting the rising waters for her father who was away at work.
“Ava had her iPad. She was taking video and pictures,” said Rae-Ann Vanek, Ava’s mother.
The footage shows the water up to Ava’s calves in the bottom floor of the home located near South 79th and West Becher streets.
That’s when her mom called for her to come upstairs.
“My mom called me up, and I reached the front entryway of our kitchen into our dining room, and then a huge bang happened. I just felt the house shift down, and I braced myself on the two pillars,” Ava said. “I just started screaming, ‘The house is collapsing.'”
The large crack was the sound of the basement collapsing.
“It was like God told me, you know, to get her up. So, I just called for her, and I’m so thankful,” Rae-Ann said.
Ava, her three younger siblings and her mother rushed to the front porch as the water filled up the basement.
“I opened up our back door, and when I looked down the stairs, the water in the basement was to the ceiling,” Rae-Ann Vanek said.
Dan Vanek, Ava’s father, hurried home to help but faced a major obstacle due to the flooded streets.
“I was swimming to the porch,” he said. “From the corner of 79th and Becher to the middle of the block where we are was approximately 6-6.5 feet deep.”
Dan said first responders were right behind him. They were able to carry the family of six one by one through the water to safety.
The Vanek family is now among many in the neighborhood dealing with the aftermath of the storm.
“The whole neighborhood, all these people in this area, they’re all hardworking people. They’re all out here working every day, taking care of their homes. It was devastating to see what we’re dealing with right now,” Dan said.
The family does have a place to stay while they await engineers and foundation specialists to assess the safety of their home and for insurance to determine coverage. Their goal is to rebuild and remain in the West Allis neighborhood. There’s an online fundraiser active right now to help them do just that.
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