Residents of a St. Catharines, Ont. neighbourhood say they are dealing with significant flooding damage after multiple rainstorms battered the area over several days.
St. Catharines has been hit by three intense storms over the past 10 days, bringing more than 140 millimetres of rain.
City officials have said that the “historic storms overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure” and caused flooding “that has affected homes, businesses and city facilities.”
“I lost everything,” said Tiffany Mayer, whose townhouse basement, along with several others on Linwell Road and nearby streets, flooded multiple times in recent days.
“My daughter’s father, who passed away last year after six years with ALS, we had memories of him tucked down there. I tried my best to save what I could, but everything was lost.”
The first of the storms in St. Catharines took place over a two-day period on July 27-28 with the latest downpour occurring on Sunday when Environment Canada warned of more than 50 millimetres of rain for the city.
Mayer said the latest rain resulted in significant flooding with numerous residents on her street impacted.
“The whole complex got hit,” she said.
“There was a house on the corner. Their cars were underwater. It was just incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
‘Go through your private insurance’
St. Catharines and Lincoln both declared a state of emergency due to flooding in those communities.
During a press conference Tuesday morning, St. Catharines Mayor Mat Sisco said that residents are continuing to deal with significant damage as he made the case for additional support from other levels of government.
“There are folks that are still living with the sewage that backed up into their homes from last Tuesday,” Siscoe said.
“The federal government doesn’t get involved until the provincial government gets involved. I understand all of those things, but when you’re living through it, there needs to be a better way.”
Siscoe said residents who are dealing with flooding damage should first contact their insurance providers.
Siscoe said if residents do not have the appropriate insurance coverage, or if their insurer refuses to cover damages, the city will handle claims through its standard process.
“Your first call should be to your insurance company to make sure the coverage is in place and get that process started. We’re telling all of our residents and advising them to go through their private insurance,” he said. “They always have the ability to make a claim against the city, and the city will deal with those through the normal process.”
City officials in St. Catharines have said that large-scale bins for residents with floor-related waste have been installed at Bill Burgoyne Arena and Kiwanis Aquatics Centre. Both will be accessible through the end of the week.
Officials say that there is also currently enhanced curbside collection, allowing residents in flood-impacted neighbourhoods to leave out unlimited bags or cans of residential waste.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, Niagara’s Acting Regional Chair Tom Insinna said that the recent storms have “flooded homes, damaged businesses, and turned lives upside down across Niagara.”
“To every resident who has lost cherished belongings, been displaced from their home or is facing the emotional and financial strain of rebuilding: we see you, we stand with you and we will not leave you to face this alone,” he said. “Regional and local infrastructure performed as designed, but no municipal system could have absorbed the extraordinary volume of rain that fell in such a short period.”
In a post to X on Monday evening, Premier Doug Ford said that the province is “working closely with impacted municipalities to provide support and assist with flood recovery.”
With files from CTV News/CP24’s Joanna Lavoie & Phil Tsekouras
