Belleville, Ont. remained in a state of emergency Monday as officials predicted the impending overflow of a nearby river.
The area has already experienced significant flooding in recent days, but according to Terry Murphy of the Quinte Conservation Authority, the worst is yet to come. He says the Moira River is could peak on Wednesday.
"Since a week ago Monday, the flows have more than doubled," Murphy told CTV News.
More than 150 buildings have already fallen victim to the Moira River.
Belleville police and firefighters have evacuated at least 10 homes along the river and officials say up to 40 more homes may need to be evacuated this week.
Many homeowners near the river have lost their driveways to flooding in recent days.
"We have water all around," area resident Stephanie Brake told CTV News. She describes her home in Foxboro, Ont., near Belleville, as more of a "boathouse" following the most recent flooding.
"We moved everything we could upstairs. We bought extra sump pumps. Friends, neighbours brought generators and pumps," said Brake.
Residents were advised to prepare
Murphy says the Quinte Conservation Authority has been advising area residents of the flood potential for the last two weeks.
Although he says residents should have received hand-delivered notices of the imminent flood threat, some residents told CTV News they received little warning.
Brake, for instance, says residents in the area needed more notice and the decision to declare a state of emergency should have come sometime last week.
Health risk tops concerns
Murphy says wells are backing up and health risks are the top concern associated with the flooding.
"The septics will be flooded and will not be working. Wells could be contaminated and probably are contaminated," said Murphy.
Residents in the flood zone are being told to manage the risk by boiling their drinking water for at least 10 minutes or buying bottled water.
City officials are also warning residents near all rivers to keep children away from dangerous and fast-moving water.
The Moira River, which stretches from Stoco Lake south of Tweed to Highway 401 in Belleville, is carrying twice its normal volume for this time of year.
Volunteer firefighters and residents have already filled 40,000 sandbags and more are needed.
Worst flooding in more than 25 years
The flooding is the worst to hit the area since 1981. Murphy says while the flood of 1981 was also caused by heavy rainfall, this year's flooding is entirely due to ice and snow melt in the northern part of the watershed.
While the flooding is expected to get worse before it gets better, he says the flood risk doesn't carry the potential to wash away homes. He says it will, however, cause significant property damage to basements and yards.
The flood waters aren't expected to start to clear out until after the weekend.
Mississippi River to also cause flood woes
Ontario's Mississippi River, located in the eastern part of the province near the Quebec border, is also rising rapidly and officials say there's a significant risk of flooding as it inches up its banks.
"These levels are going to come up," Gord Mountenay of the Mississippi Conservation Authority told CTV News.
"They are going to be probably the highest we've seen since 1998 -- not as bad as 1998 but certainly higher than we've seen in the last 10 years, so people have to be prepared," he said.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Aliya Jiwan
