st. catharines mayor declares state of emergency over flooding; wants ontario, feds' help
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st. catharines mayor mat siscoe declared a state of emergency on monday afternoon in his city following significant flooding over the last week that has had widespread effects on “thousands” of homes and property.
the declaration follows a pair of big storms that brought more than 140 mm of rain to areas across the city last tuesday and wednesday and again on sunday night.
in fact, siscoe sent out a video message on social media on sunday night from his own flooded basement, for the second time this week, saying: “this message is for my federal and provincial colleagues. the city of st. catharines, for the second time in five days, is dealing with more than 100 mm of rain, about a hurricane’s worth, dropped on the city in a short period of time. and thus far we’ve been dealing with it on our own. there has been no disaster relief assistance offered by either the provincial or federal government. we’ve gone through the normal channels. we’ve worked as hard as we can with the bureaucracy to see what can be done, but still the city has been left to fend for itself.”
in a news release, the city says the storms have overwhelmed st. catharines’ infrastructure, including roads and sewer/stormwater, and have caused flooding that has affected homes, businesses, city facilities, and significant property damage, including shoreline erosion to private and public property.
emergency centre has been active since the first storm last tuesday
the city’s emergency operations centre has remained active since tuesday morning to coordinate response efforts and prioritize resources as recovery continues.
the city says the declaration ensures that the city has all tools available in its response and recovery and further supports ongoing requests for help from other levels of government.
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“i am respectfully requesting at this time that the federal and provincial governments get together and find a way to provide some form of disaster relief assistance to the city of st. catharines,” said siscoe in his video posted sunday.
“again, no infrastructure can handle a hurricane’s worth of rain on tuesday and then again on sunday. and our city is no different from the other cities in this country.”
updates from the city, along with links to resources and supports for those who have experienced flooding are available here.
responding to a request for comment from the sun, michael minzak, spokesperson for ontario municipal affairs and housing minister rob flack, said that the provincial emergency operations centre has received a request for assistance and is working with the city of st. catharines “to assess storm-related flood damage to determine whether there are any areas affected by overflowing creeks, rivers, or lakes where uninsured damage may be eligible for assistance under the drao (disaster recovery assistance for ontarians) program.”
also responding to a request for comment from the sun, public safety canada said, “the safety of all canadians is paramount for our government, and our thoughts are with the residents and communities in the niagara region who have been impacted by the recent flooding, including the city of st catharines and the town of lincoln.”
a spokesperson said that public safety canada is in “close contact with provincial officials to monitor the rapidly evolving situation.”
the federal government has not received a request for federal assistance from the province, the spokesperson added, “but we stand ready to provide additional assistance if requested by the province.”
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