officer wading into chest deep waters wednesday to investigate reports of people in a flooded basement. with stuffed animals and toys bobbing in the filthy, murky water, the officers were blockade by locked doors and live electricity. firefighters brought in specialized equipment and discovered the bodies of three people. all of them had drowned. let's begin our coverage in new york with cnn's paolo sandoval. >> reporter: we're in one of those queens neighborhoods particularly hit by flash flooding. all weekend, there are many residents who spent it clearing out the damage in their homes and throwing out their damaged belongings to the curb. there are a lot of queens residents just watching and waiting to see what the federal government will do to come forward and help them in repairing and replacing what they have to. there was damage by that storm and a lot of them were hopeful