Volunteers travel to northern Ont. community to help as flood danger persists
Water has flooded three roads in the French River area and five homes are surrounded by water, as persistent spring rain continues to saturate the ground.
But the municipality is getting some much-needed help: 12 volunteers with Team Rubicon a national based disaster response organization, were sand bagging around a home on Brousseau Road on Wednesday to try and prevent flooding.
Team Rubicon is made up of men and women with military and first-responder experience, as well as civilian volunteers who step in when disaster is looming.
“We assist federal provincial and local governments during disaster operations and work with emergency management centres and other departments throughout different provincial governments,” said Jay McArthur, a volunteer with Team Rubicon.
The sandbags weigh 40 pound each and the volunteers, along with municipal employees, have been filling and then piling them around homes to protect them.
“This is what we love to do in the military -- we always answer the call to help,” said McArthur.
“Our job is to go out and help people that need it. We have been well-received from the homeowners that we have helped so far and you can see the sense of relief on their faces while we are there helping them berm up around their houses.”
The local fire department said it asked for help from the Provincial Emergency Management Centre and were put in touch with Team Rubicon.
Volunteers arrived Monday.
“They prevent any additional water coming through to the property and even wakes from boats that are boating around the river prevents damages to the homes the crawl space the basement to the residence,” said Roch Bigras, the chief of the French Fire Department.
French River Mayor Gisele Pageau said local residents are extremely grateful for the work of volunteers with Team Rubicon. (Alana Everson/CTV News)
Municipal officials said everyone in the French River area is hoping for dry weather and sunshine to lessen the threat of more flooding.
o Download our app to get local alerts on your device
o Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“We need some sun, we need some heat in order to dry the area,” said French River Mayor Gisele Pageau.
“If we have more precipitation or if on Friday, we find out that the dams have opened up slightly, (then) we will be able to take that extra water.”
Municipal officials said water levels are being monitored daily and that sandbagging is being done around any home at risk of flooding. Pageau said local residents are extremely grateful for the work of volunteers with Team Rubicon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Prescriptions for weight loss, diabetes drugs for young people leaped 600% since 2020, study says
The number of young people in the U.S. who are prescribed GLP-1 agonist drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and diabetes soared 594.4 per cent in just three years, according to new research.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Dolphin stuck in N.J. creek dies after 'last resort' rescue attempt, officials say
Animal welfare officials say a dolphin stuck in a New Jersey creek for more than a week has died after a rescue attempt they say was attempted as a “last resort.”
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
NASA launches tiny CubeSat to set its sights on Earth
NASA has launched the first of two research satellites to measure how much heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica.
How to keep insects out of your house, according to an entomologist and other experts
Now that temperatures have warmed up even more this spring, you may be anxious at the thought of bugs invading your home or you may already be battling the pests. Here are expert tips on how to keep them away.
‘It’s pretty alarming’: Urban Wildlife encounters in Winnipeg this week
When you consider what kind of animals you might encounter in your Winnipeg neighborhood, a bear probably isn’t on your list.