“So it’s raining, which is not a great thing,” said Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith on Wednesday morning.
Communities in cottage country brace for another soaking as weather alerts have been issued for a swath of the province that's already dealt with a week of relentless flooding.
The Muskoka region, which includes the hard-hit communities of Bracebridge, Bala and Huntsville, remains under a rainfall warning with up to 40 millimetres expected to fall in some areas.
The warning posted on Environment Canada's website notes that "the ground, already near saturation, has little ability to absorb further rainfall."
Mayor Smith said in a tweet that while water levels have come down since the weekend, they are still above those last seen in 2013 when the region saw its worst flooding in a century.
The town now has 200 Canadian Armed Forces members leading sandbagging efforts, and aiding in any way necessary.
Town officials are advising people to stay off waterways because of the significant amount of debris in the water making it unsafe.
Mayor Smith said he spoke with Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Tuesday night, and the minister got to work activating a new Interim Order. This order restricts water vessels from being in areas that are deemed unsafe because of the flooding.
On the other side of Lake Muskoka, Bala has also become one of the epicentres of the flooding catastrophe.
Mayor Phil Harding said at least five families have already been forced to abandon their homes, with another 25 to 30 homes threatened by rising water levels.
“They’re devastated right now. This is their life savings, they’ve retired up here. They’re now looking for any help and support in any way they can. Sandbags will not save their home. They’re so far underwater already.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, officials say the Moon River was approximately seven feet higher than it should be.
“We had dinner here with friends on Thursday night, everything was fine. Friday morning it was seeping through the floorboards, and within two days, there’s a foot of water in here,” Frida Ardal said while standing in knee-high boots in her now-flooded livingroom.
“It makes me sick, it really does,” said her partner, Allan Turnbull. “I’m just hoping that it hasn’t done serious structural damage.”
Meantime, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has issued a shoreline hazard warning for Lake Ontario, urging people in the Greater Toronto Area to use caution along the waterfront.
- With files from The Canadian Press
