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
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver says he got a cellphone ticket for using his points app in the drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
Forecast turns favourable in fight against wildfire threatening northern B.C. town
A low-pressure system moving into northern British Columbia is expected to dampen wildfire activity that has forced several thousand people to flee their homes in and around Fort Nelson, the BC Wildfire Service says.
New study shows financial impact of homelessness on our health-care system
A new study out of London, Ont. lays out the cost of the homelessness crisis on our health-care system.
B.C. YouTuber ordered to pay $350K for 'relentless' online defamation campaign
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief says grave search at B.C. residential school brings things 'full circle'
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
'Endless Shrimp' just one misstep for Red Lobster as it eyes bankruptcy protection
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
Evacuees concerned over conflicting information on Fort Nelson wildfire
Evacuees staying in Fort St. John have expressed concern about how little they are hearing about what is happening in their now deserted city.
Insurance claims skyrocket and tensions remain high after slew of natural disasters
According to new data released by Statistics Canada, the cost of catastrophic insurance claims in Canada between 1983 and 2008 was $400 million each year.