The recent cold weather provided little relief for people in Ramara who are struggling to hold back floodwaters on Wednesday.
The black river continues to rust through Ramara, overflowing its banks and washing out roads. Some roads like McMillan Side Road near Washago are barely passable. Some homes and cottages along the river are now islands – surrounded by water.
Tim Hand has been in this situation before and is counting on three sump pumps to keep the water out of his home. The Black River already flooded his backyard and water is quickly spilling into his basement.
“My first pump has been running non-stop for over a week…it’s just overwhelming the amount of water that is down here, it’s ridiculous.”
The recent cold weather did slow down the flow but the water levels are still rising.
“Currently the flow levels are 197 cubic metres per second which means for the area there is more flooding to come unfortunately, the levels haven’t dropped yet,” says Ramara Fire Deputy Chief Tony Stong.
Ramara Township officials held a meeting on Wednesday to assess the latest conditions. Sandbags are still being made available to residents. Stong says water levels along the river are just as high as last year’s flooding.
“That’s because of the large amount of snow late into the spring this year. “
John Annunzillo’s house is dry right now but the river has crested over the bank and sandbags are pushing the water back. His basement flooded in 2013 and he is hoping a new sump pump will stop that from happening again.
“Water is come in the basement and the water is getting pumped up but we’re still melting.”
So far 100 properties throughout Ramara have been affected by flooding and the fire department expects that number to increase as water levels along the Black River continues to rise.
