St. Catharines residents call for provincial help after disastrous flooding

Frustration is building in St. Catharines Friday, and there are calls for Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government to help people get through what’s being called a flooding disaster.

It followed horrendous rains that hit the city earlier this week.

In parts of St. Catharines, the debris was piling up as people cleared out basements flooded by rain and backed up sewers.

“It’s a mess, it’s a mess,” said both Angelo Largoza and William Matthews.

“And now I’m a little paranoid it’s going to rain on the weekend,” said Matthews.

Earlier this week, CHCH News stopped by Largoza and Matthews’ basement just after the rain stopped.

WATCH MORE: Significant weather event declared in St. Catharines after regional flooding, power outages

Friday, they had the basement completely cleaned up, but the bad news is much has to be thrown out anyway as it’s contaminated with flood water.

“It’s still stinky and it has to be removed,” said Matthews.

And the stress is building, as facing the cost of clean up and replacement could be twice the $30,000 settlement they’ll get from insurance.

“This happened, it’s just we really don’t want to go through this any more,” said Largoza.

It’s been four days since the flooding happened and residents are anxious to get this resolved.

Caroline McIntyre’s basement was flooded as well, with two feet of water.

She was told not to clean it up until there’s an insurance assessment, but the insurance companies are backed up with too many claims.

“I’m still waiting for help, nobody has arrived, nobody has come to assess,” said McIntyre. “Things are starting to — it smells down here, I’m worried about mold.”

WATCH MORE: Residents press for city action as flooding in Flamborough neighbourhood worsens

“People are trying to recover — their homes were filled, they’ve lost precious stuff within their homes and right now they’re trying to clean up,” said St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens. “It’s devastating for the people of St. Catharines to see what they have to do.”

Stevens says the provincial government should be providing disaster relief funding based on individual need, as it did for some Ottawa flood victims this summer.

There’s no word on how many houses and basements were hit by the flooding in St Catharines, but Stevens says there were up to 600 calls to the city’s emergency line.

“And it’s up to the province to definitely please step up and please declare the City of St Catharines that this was a natural disaster,” said Stevens. “These people have tried to clean up and it’s devastating when you lose all your personal belongings.”

The provincial government told CHCH News that it’s trying to determine if there were any floods from creeks or rivers where uninsured damage would be eligible for disaster assistance.

There’s no mention of flooding from backed up sewers.

The city announced Friday that it’s setting up a registry for people who need help getting water and waste out of their homes.

READ MORE: Hamilton officials advice flood precautions as Lake Ontario levels rise