VALLEY VIEW, Ohio -- Valley View residents who have had to deal with severe flooding over the past week now have another problem on their hands.

NewsChannel5 reported that police are now trying to stop looters who are trying to take advantage of flood victims.

Valley View's chief of police said that after the floodwaters receded, it was a free-for-all.

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Homeowner Denis Pappas is trying to clean out her flooded home, and she said she now must deal with looters who are trying to take what's left of her family's possessions.

"Yesterday we had a car full of people. They had kids in the Dumpsters digging for scrap," said Pappas.

To prevent her trash from becoming another's treasure, Pappas put up a tent.

"People have insurance companies that are coming that have to look at the damaged stuff, and they're digging through everything," said Pappas.

Resident Dan Sims doesn't have a tent, but looters are forewarned when they step onto his property.

"We said, 'You don't live here and you don't have permission to take it. So make like a tree and leave,'" Sims said.

Police Chief Ted Bodnovich said, "A lot of people discarded freezers on their front lawns and everybody thought we could just go down there and pick it up, when in fact, they were just trying to get it out of the house so they could get their house in condition to go back in."

Police cruisers are patrolling the neighborhood, and residents are keeping their eyes open as well.