'The walls were imploding': Cranston apartment complex 'uninhabitable' after weekend floods

Wheeler Cowperthwaite, Providence Journal
·1 min read

CRANSTON – An entire apartment building on Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston was deemed uninhabitable city officials after flooding on Sunday.

A high water line, marked by mulch, was visible on vehicles in the parking lot of the Dean Estates parking complex, as well as on the windows of the ground-floor apartments, and on the side of the building.

Mayor Ken Hopkins told WPRO's Gene Valicenti that the entire building has been condemned over structural concerns. Inside the building, water got as deep as 12 feet and firefighters had to help people with physical disabilities out of the building as it flooded.

Flood water submerged this BMW at the Dean Estate apartments on Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston following flooding on Sunday. The high water line, marked by mulch, extends above the hood of the car
Flood water submerged this BMW at the Dean Estate apartments on Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston following flooding on Sunday. The high water line, marked by mulch, extends above the hood of the car

"The walls were imploding and refrigerators were floating," Hopkins said on the radio.

Two dogs died in the flooding, although no people were injured.

Firefighters pumped water out of the building and conducted inspections.

Not the first time the building has flooded

WPRI reported that a fire broke out in a different building in the same apartment complex on Monday, and video footage showed firefighters on the roof of one of the buildings.

The high-water line at the Dean Estates apartments following flooding is marked by a film of mulch on the side of the building, hitting the bottom of windows on the basement units.
The high-water line at the Dean Estates apartments following flooding is marked by a film of mulch on the side of the building, hitting the bottom of windows on the basement units.

An emergency hearing on the building and the situation is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, in the community room of the Cranston Police Department.

The Dean Estates building has flooded many times before, in 2013 and again in 2018.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Reach Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Dean Estates apartment complex in Cranston condemned after flooding