As large parts of northeastern Ontario grapple with rising waters from snow melt and rain this week — which has already forced several areas under states of emergency due to road washouts and flooding — the Municipality of French River, Ont., is “bracing” for impact from water held back by dams further north.
Mayor Gisèle Pageau told CBC News on Saturday some families in her community were told today to evacuate their homes amid safety concerns due to flooding. Pageau said she is in touch with dam operators to the north as they try to hold back and carefully mete out the release of accumulated water from snow melt and rain.
“The deal, basically, is that everybody’s gonna hurt a little bit,” she said. “But the dam operators have been very sympathetic and are trying their best to work with us to manage the flow.”
Pageau said about 50 homes are at risk of flooding or already under water. In some areas flood waters are five feet deep. “We’ve been informed that there is more water coming down the watershed, and we will be experiencing another hike … probably starting tomorrow and Monday,” she said.
“There’s just nowhere else for the water to go.”
The province has sent volunteers to help people in the community fill sandbags, Pageau said, and an emergency shelter will be set up on Monday for those with nowhere else to stay during the flooding.
Environment Canada issued a yellow level rainfall warning for North Bay, Ont., and surrounding areas on Saturday, and warned the ground is “already near saturation” and “has a limited capacity to absorb this rainfall.” With 20 to 30 millimetres of rain expected, the weather alert said localized flooding is likely and some roads may become impassable.
According to the province’s monitoring service, several secondary highways and roads have been closed due to flooding and road washouts.
The community of Chisholm Township, south of North Bay, declared a state of emergency on Saturday morning. Some are roads were closed and residents there are being told to shelter in place.
The City of North Bay issued a notice on Friday saying it was making sandbags available at Sunset Park and Champlain Park as the potential for flooding along the Lake Nipissing shoreline increases.
