A pair of municipalities in Niagara Region, St. Catharines and Lincoln, have both declared a state of emergency due to flooding following heavy rainfall. In a video recorded from his flooded basement, St. Catharines, Ont. Mayor Mat Siscoe recorded a video from his flooded basement Sunday night, saying that the city has seen a “hurricane’s worth” of rain in recent days resulting in thousands of flooded homes. “Many residents are reliving the devastating experience of flooding for the second time in less than a week, and Sunday’s storm extended those impacts to even more neighbourhoods across St. Catharines,” Siscoe said in a declaration issued Monday. “This declaration underscores the severity of what our community has experienced and the need for continued support from our partners at all levels of government as we work together through recovery. It comes after officials say a pair of “intense storms” dropped more than 140 mm of rain on the city in less than a week. St. Catharines, along with other parts of Niagara Region, was under a rainfall warning Sunday with more than 50 mm of rain expected. A tornado warning was issued at one point as the storm worsened. Ground already saturated from last storm St. Catharines, which has a population of just under 137,000, says the last two rainfall events each produced “two to three times” the amount of rain that was forecast, and that because the ground is already saturated with a week’s worth of “exceptional rainfall, the risk of further impacts from another significant storm remains elevated.” The declaration, city officials explained, allows the city to maintain enhanced coordination, access emergency resources more quickly if needed, and respond without delay should conditions worsen. St. Catharines mayor calling for more support In Siscoe’s video, he charged that the city has been “left to fend for itself,” in the aftermath of Sunday’s storm, pointing the finger at the upper levels of government for what he called a lack of support. “I am respectfully requesting at this time that the federal and provincial governments get together and find a way to provide some form of disaster relief assistance to the city of St. Catharines,” he said. Town of Lincoln declares state of emergency The Town of Lincoln, which is roughly 23 kms north of St. Catharines, has also declared a statement of emergency die to what it describes as “historic flooding” over the past 24 hours. “Our community has faced an extraordinary challenge,” Mayor Sandra Easton said in a news release. “We have witnessed the devastating impacts of flooding on families, businesses, farms, and critical infrastructure. Declaring a State of Emergency ensures we are taking every available step to protect our community, coordinate our response, and advocate for the support Lincoln needs to recover.” The town, which is home to about 26,000 people, said it made the declaration after “an extraordinary rainfall event that overwhelmed roads, stormwater infrastructure, homes, businesses, and municipal services,” a situation that was “further exacerbated by widespread power outage.” Officials are asking for patience as they assess damage across the municipality, both to public infrastructure but also private property. They say they’ve received almost 300 calls from residents regarding flooding in the last 24 hours. The town added that this declaration reflects the severity of the situation and strengthens its ability to “coordinate resources, implement emergency measures, and support requests for provincial assistance, while reinforcing the significance of the impacts on our community.” “Recovery will take time, but the Town remains committed to advocating for every available resource to help our community rebuild,” it said. GO trains delayed, some cancelled in region GO trains travelling between St. Catharines and Niagara Falls may be delayed up to 30 minutes, officials say, due to flooding. Those servicing St. Catharines, however, have been cancelled and a bus shuttle is now in place. “Customers at Niagara Falls GO intending for St. Catharines GO can board a bus at Niagara Falls Bus Terminal. Niagara bound customers intending for St. Catharines GO can board a bus at Confederation GO,” said officials, who are urging customers to check GO’s service updates page for real-time information.
