On July 10 and 11, 2024, the village of Plainfield was hit hard by flooding that washed out roads, bridges, houses and apartments, the second major flooding event in as many years. After a deluge of rain, the Great Brook was raging with trees and rocks when it demolished the Mill Street Bridge and two-thirds of a historic apartment building that locals call the “Heartbreak Hotel.” Five cats died, and 12 residents were displaced. Images of the remnants of the battered building were seen around the globe in the news coverage that followed.

That year, Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger met some of the residents recovering from the disaster. This month, she returned for an update. Between the 2023 and 2024 floods, 39 housing units were damaged or destroyed, and about 40 residents were displaced. The owners of 28 properties have applied for buyouts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but only three — all from the 2023 flooding — have been approved.