Residents of an affordable housing development in Port Coquitlam say they’re frustrated after flooding caused days of interruptions to utilities and what they describe as a lack of communication by property management.

On Friday, rain overwhelmed the stormwater system at the Alex, an 83-unit building at the corner of Flint Street and Prairie Avenue, and flooded the basement and electrical room.

BC Hydro cut off power so the building’s maintenance team could drain the water and dry out the electrical system with industrial fans.

But residents were forced out of the building on Saturday, when an alarm went off, detecting raised levels of CO2 in the electrical room, where crews were running a generator.

Resident Devon described the chaotic weekend to CityNews.

“It was just insanity,” said Devon.

“People left behind animals, left behind children, not sure what was going on, being absolutely terrified.”

Another resident, Emily, described what it was like when the building was evacuated.

“Many elderly, many babies, a lot of animals in the building that were just kind of left stranded,” said Emily, adding that the interior is its own kind of mess.

“Everything’s soaked. Everything’s turning to mud, mildew. Everything’s in our bathtub right now.”

She says management needs to do more to respond to the problems.

The building is owned by Atira Women’s Resource Society, a non-profit that provides low-barrier housing to women, which some residents say left them to fend for themselves throughout the ordeal.

In a statement to CityNews, it says Atira and BC Housing outreach team supported the most vulnerable tenants to temporarily relocate to a local hotel.

“This group included seniors, tenants with mobility issues, and families with young children,” Atira explained.

Remaining tenants say that if they can’t arrange their own places to stay, they are allowed back into their units, which were still without lighting or heat Monday morning.

Emily says that accounts for most residents.

“The majority of the people that live in this building don’t have the means for a hotel or anything else.”

Atira says the building has been deemed safe by the Port Coquitlam Fire Department, and crews are working to dry it out.

“And we are being told the power will be turned back on tomorrow,” Atira said Sunday.

“We will continue to update tenants either in person and/or via email as the updates become available.”