SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) — The Skokie Village Board voted on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency, which will allow them to access more funds for residents affected by last Friday’s water main break.

Skokie residents are still recovering from a water main break that flooded several homes and vehicles last week.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The break prompted a dayslong boil order. Crews were eventually able to repair the water main.

Resident Kathleen Schmidt says she and her father had three of their vehicles damaged when floodwaters from the break got within 3 feet of their home.

“It’s just been really, really hard on our family. We’re fortunate that it didn’t get into our basement, but it came pretty close,” Schmidt said.

The single mother of triplets has since had to rent a car to get her to and from work, and her father has been relying on rides from friends.

“How are they going to replace things that we’ve lost? Like, for instance, my dad lost two older cars. He can’t buy a new car because the insurance won’t cover it,” Schmidt said.

The loss of her vehicles, she says, has turned their family’s life upside down as they navigate how to pay for repairs and new transportation.

Chopper 7 captured the scope of the damage, impacting homes and vehicles, from above on Friday morning.

“I came down to a scene I’ve never seen in my life, I hope to never see again,” said another resident, named Michael.

Village leaders are hoping their emergency declaration will help provide relief to homeowners with much-needed repairs.

“The declaration of emergency follows the activation of emergency operations center and makes resources available through the county and state emergency management,” Skokie Village Manager John Lockerby.

Village leaders also provided a report on what has happened so far and what needs to happen going forward.

“We will be retaining expert services to analyze the failure and understand what it’s cause was,” said Skokie Director of Public Works Max Slankard.

Neighbors then addressed the board directly.

One man said that he waited for hours before village crews were able to get the water levels down around his home, and by the time relief came, it was too late. His home had flooded multiple times.

“We felt neglected. We felt hidden. It was getting scary,” Michael said.

The water main break and floodwaters coincided with frigid temperatures, making cleanup efforts challenging and dangerous.

On Tuesday night, impacted residents at the meeting are hoping this never happens again.

“That’s what we’re looking for is to have this accountability restore our trust because we felt neglected,” Michael said.

The village is preparing a damage assessment report and is encouraging all impacted residents to contact the village, detailing the damage done to their property.

Officials say this will help them make a case to access additional federal and state funds.