Over 100 residents in a high-rise building located in St. Catharines, Ont., had to leave their homes on Tuesday following a severe overnight storm that caused significant flooding in the building’s basement and parking garage, leading to a power outage.
The City of St. Catharines and nearby Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) reported widespread flooding after an intense rainfall dumped heavy amounts of water in just a few hours.
According to Niagara-on-the-Lake, some areas near Virgil received up to 146 millimeters of rain, while St. Catharines recorded around 138 millimeters.
Residents of Centennial Place 1, a ten-storey building at 351 Geneva St. in St. Catharines surrounded by other residential towers, shared with that power and water were cut off starting Tuesday morning. Management later informed them they needed to evacuate for safety reasons.
Robert Burke, who has lived there for ten years with his wife, mentioned that the underground parking garage started flooding around 4 a. m. Tuesday as the storm continued for hours. By 9 a. m., the water was knee-deep in the parking area, he stated.
“That resulted in electrical short circuits,” he said. “Elevators, water and electricity were cut off.”
Residents Given Evacuation Orders
Management from Q Residential, the building’s owners, knocked on Burke’s door around 2:30 p. m.
“They said we have to evacuate the building,” he recalled.
Lorne Stephenson from Q Residential indicated that all 107 units had to be evacuated due to the flooding situation. It was uncertain when residents would be allowed back home as evening approached on Wednesday.
“That’s all to be decided,” he told . “We worked through the night [and] work is ongoing.”
Before residents can return safely, various regulatory agencies need to ensure everything is secure, Stephenson added.</
Burke mentioned he believed some residents had nowhere else to go on Tuesday night. “We were fortunate; we could stay at our in-laws’ house since they were on vacation just around the corner,” he shared.</The car access point for underground parking at Centennial Place 1 on Geneva Street in St. Catharines was blocked off with tape on Wednesday morning after flooding caused by a severe storm. (Paul Forsyth/CBC)
Haza Nafir has lived there since 2011 and managed to stay with her cousin in St. Catharines for a couple of days but expressed stress because her car was stuck in the flooded garage and she needs it for work.</
“I’ve missed two days of work,” she told . “It’s a big problem.”</
Nafir stated she won’t know if her car is salvageable until it gets taken out and checked by a mechanic.
Town Staff Working Hard During Recovery Efforts
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Burke works as a Canadian Border Services agent at Pearson International Airport in Toronto and noted that he’d spoken with several residents over the last day who felt angry and stressed about being forced from their homes.
“They’re not happy,” he said. “Especially those who had nowhere to stay last night. They’re taking it out on the building managers [but] it’s not their fault; they just look after the property.”</
This led Burke to rent a car on Wednesday since both his and his wife’s vehicles were caught in floodwaters inside the parking garage.
The sloping entrance leading into underground parking remained taped off with emergency tape as recovery efforts continued.
Burke worried both their cars might be damaged beyond repair due to water exposure.”We won’t be able to go out and buy two cars,” he lamented.A roadside fruit stand along Four Mile Creek Road sits surrounded by deep water Tuesday afternoon in Niagara-on-the-Lake.(Paul Forsyth/CBC)
An update regarding flood conditions released Wednesday noted that staff from Niagara-on-the-Lake were diligently addressing numerous reports related to damage caused by flooding.</text-decoration:a=”contact”>.</(A strong message came across stating,“>./font>)`)” &”, ‘. “</"(o'<"</s'.'"< .”%.<>
