Relief agency deploys free aid across Niagara weeks after torrential floods

Niagara residents are still cleaning up after a series of devastating storms a few weeks ago, and some are finding it overwhelming.

An international relief agency has set up shop in the area to help people in need get their basements in order free of charge.

Anne Culley thought she was ready for anything.

“Since the last flood, they said we had to have a sump pump, which we did with a backup, but the power went out,” said Culley. “So I get up and I go downstairs and I’m walking through water all the way down, and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know what we’re going to do’.”

The 86-year-old homeowner says her insurance company wasn’t getting back to her, so she called the Town of Lincoln, and within days a team from Samaritan’s Purse was there to help.

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“This basement was flooded and we’ve got a team that’s coming in,” said Ian Stokes from Samaritan’s Purse Canada. “This is day two now — they’re currently working in the house. So what we’re doing is debris removal and then we’re removing out damaged drywall, the insulation has been pulled out.”

Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian relief organization that responds to disasters across Canada and internationally.

The team of about 50 volunteers set up their command centre at New Hope Church in Jordan, and have four teams working throughout the region, at no cost to the homeowners.

“What we’re starting to find now in week two, is we are getting phone calls from homeowners that initially thought ‘I can do this, I can clean up the basement’,” said Stokes. “Now they’re finding that the work’s a little too much for them, it’s too hard.”

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“I was just thrilled, but I had no idea to what extent they would be cleaning our basement,” said Culley. “They’ve gone above and beyond. We are just so grateful and so thankful, we’re really blessed to have this team.”

Of course, the three historic storms in three weeks hit the entire Niagara region hard, and the costs are slowly being tallied.

“We know our costs right now — we have a ballpark of between $35 million and $45 million is what this whole situation is going to wind up costing the city and we’re going to be making an application to the Municipal Disaster Relief Assistance program at the province with those numbers,” said St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe.

“We’re still doing the numbers, it’s definitely in the millions, and I know St. Catharines had significantly more than us,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. “There is a lot also in our neighboring communities, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Vineland as well, but I mean it’s a tough haul. We’re still assessing it and it’s hard.”

Anyone interested in volunteering for or donating to the Samaritan’s Purse can go to their official website here.

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