Saint-Leonard residents stressed about possibility of more flooding

Saint-Leonard residents are anxious about additional flooding following thunderstorm alerts issued Thursday in Montreal.

Just a few days ago, basement garages on Belmont Street in Saint-Leonard were completely inundated. Those same residents are now bracing for the worst. 

“It’s stressful. As soon as it starts raining, we’re looking out the window. Is it going to flood? It’s really stressful.” said Stefan Verrillo, a Saint-Leonard property manager.

With a severe thunderstorm watch issued, the next storm could bring more damage, and residents say they still haven’t seen much action from the city.

“This is something that they need to take care of,” said Verrillo. “They know the problem. Why are we taking care of everything?”

Residents on Belmont Street were drenched in 100 millimetres of rain on Sunday, flooding basements with up to five feet of water. 

On Thursday, Environment and Climate Change Canada placed the Montreal area under a severe thunderstorm watch, saying it could lead to flash flooding.

While storms aren’t expected to be as severe as last weekend, the risk isn’t gone yet, said Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist with the weather authority.

“There could still be some vulnerabilities through parts of the island who did receive heavy amounts of rain on Sunday,” said Flisfeder. “So if the ground is still saturated in those areas, there could be impacts even from lesser amounts through the storms today.”

Still recovering from Sunday’s floods, Belmont street residents say the forecast alone is enough to keep them on edge.

“With the storm, I can’t fall asleep every night,” recounted Ludmyla Maruivych, in front of her home on Belmont, her walkway crowded by a pile of furniture pieces and drywall ready for garbage pick-up, after they were ruined by the flood. “I’m very stressed because I don’t know what I’d do.”

Her neighbour Rosa Muoio, who lives a few doors down, echoed the same sentiments: “We were still on edge. I have a lot of stress built up because I have heart palpitations. Every time there’s more, you get very nervous.”

Muoio had spent over $30,000 installing eight one-way valves and multiple pumps to prevent flooding. She said she still lost everything in her basement on Sunday. 

She and neighbouring residents say they’ve done enough; they’re calling local officials to flood-proof the neighbourhood.

“The government? I’d say the government isn’t playing its part,” said Muoio. “The city says it doesn’t have the money because it costs a lot. It’s the City of Montreal that has to give the money. But it doesn’t give the money, so it can’t do any renovation work.”

“The saddest part is that after the flood, the city tells us, this is your fault,” said Maruivych.  “We’ve spent thousands of dollars because it’s not cheap.”

City officials say Belmont Street sits in a low-lying part of the city where water naturally pools, and that the main local water collector is too small to keep up during thunderstorms. 

And when sewers back up, residents say they’re left alone to deal with the damage.

“My apartment was overflowing because it was full of stuff on the first floor,” said Maruivych. “I don’t know how to live like this.”