The Mayor of Gatineau admitted the morale of his residents is low after weeks of flooding but he says they remain tough.The Ottawa River is on the rise once again in both Ottawa and Gatineau.
According to a Gatineau news release, water levels throughout that city have risen about 8 centimetres as a result of the recent rainfall. The overall rise in water levels could peak at 22 cm by Sunday in the Aylmer sector, the same as on May 1st. Areas along the Ottawa River, including Hull, Gatineau and Masson-Anger sectors, could see theirs rise by 27 cm by Monday.
It's an eerie sight. Boats have replaced cars along a road in Pointe Gatineau,
“parked" for the day while their owners go to work or to town for provisions.
The homeowers are flooded, tired and too fed up to talk.
Around the corner, Annie Minniti watches in disbelief as the flood waters near her home rise yet again.
“I'm one of lucky ones,” she says, “It reached here but never came over the barrier. Each time they say there's more, I don't know.”
And there is more: 8 centimetres more in the last few hours as the rain poured down.
“We expect water in west part of Gatineau to reach the same level as May 1st,” says Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, the mayor of Gatineau, “that was the highest level we went through this year.”
Marguerite Bigras has seen many floods in the decades she's lived here.
“Il monte tranquillement,” says Bigras, saying the water is rising slowly outside her home. She knows it will rise more this week.
“We're waiting,” she says in French, “We've done everything we can.”
“Morale is low,” says the mayor of Gatineau, “but I think they (the residents) are tough.”
Pedneaud-Jobin is encouraging people to stay mobilized and keep their sand bag dikes in place.
One hundred and eleven houses in Gatineau have been evacuated but about 200 people remain in their homes surrounded by flood waters. The city is checking in on them every day to make sure they're okay.
“We have a long road in front of us,” says the mayor, “It's still rising; it could be as long as 3 weeks to recede after that.”
It is eerily quiet back at Anna Minniti's house; a feeling she's almost getting used to.
“I'm not afraid,” she says, “but it's like you said, it’s a ghost town. There's hardly any people.”
And it may stay that way for some time yet. Many roads continue to be closed in Gatineau and will remain that way for weeks to come. And Pedneaud-Jobin predicts at least two weeks before the water begins to recede in Pointe Gatineau.
