Montrealers recover from weekend flooding, reconsider long-term plans

Some Montreal residents are still recovering from the impact of the heavy rainfall left by Tropical Storm Debby on Friday, but a return to normal is gradually taking place. Several municipalities across Quebec experienced record-breaking rainfall, with many areas receiving over 100 millimetres in just 24 hours.

Many residents in Montreal’s Saint-Leonard borough are left to clean up the mess in the aftermath of the storm that flooded their homes.

“You’re telling us do the work, we do the work, spend our money to do the work so this doesn’t happen but it keeps happening,” said a Saint-Leonard homeowner who wished to remain anonymous.

“The water came and it was the highest it’s been since I don’t even know when. So even my dad’s car doesn’t work anymore because of the water,” they said.

According to the province’s public’s safety minister, at least 260 homes were flooded, with 400 people being evacuated, and nearly 170 roads damaged. Eight municipalities declared a state of local emergency.

Heavy rainfall is always a concern for residents in the area, as flooding is not uncommon. However, many say they’ve taken the city’s advice and have made efforts to reduce the risk of flooding like expanding their drainage systems and installing pumps to move water out from basements.

“Clearly the ‘clape’ backwash system we installed, was not enough,” says resident George Padula. “Not only was it not enough for us, it wasn’t enough for everybody in our vicinity here, our neighbours that we know of.”

Padula says his home has been flooded three times in the past five years. He’s reached out to his insurance provider but hasn’t heard back, saying they were overwhelmed with calls that they didn’t get ahold of them.

Pierre Babinsky from the Insurance Board of Canada says “if you can’t get to through your insurance provider at the moment, it’s OK, continue to take as many pictures and videos as you can, documenting all the damages.

“You don’t need to speak with your insurer to start the cleaning process even if you have to hire a cleaning company. As long as you are aware that whatever the cost of the cleaning company will be part of the total claim that you will be filing.”

A statement to CityNews from the city of Montreal reads, “The City of Montreal is implementing several measures to become more resilient to climate change and the increasing frequency of rainfall that exceeds the capacity of its networks. Among these measures are the creation of sponge parks, which direct street runoff and, during heavy rains, accommodate a significant volume of water, thereby reducing the risk of flooding buildings in the area. Over the next two years, the City will complete 400 sidewalk upgrades and an additional thirty resilient parks across its territory.”

The province says property owners and tenants impacted by the floods can get financial help through the General Disaster Financial Assistance Program. However some residents, like Padula, are reconsidering their long-term plans.

“This is happening way too often now, and this is not why I bought a house in this neighborhood,” Padula said. “I didn’t buy it so I can have this type of issue.”

• With files from The Canadian Press