City Hall Insider: Flood recovery at city hall

Good afternoon, 

As we continue to learn more about the aftermath of the Canada Day rainstorm and the flooding that so many Ottawa residents experienced, I can’t help but reflect on previous extreme weather events that have shaped Ottawa.

I remember hearing stories about the Ice Storm of 1998, which hit when my mom was pregnant with me, and seeing photos about the impact that such heavy ice and snow had on Ottawa and the surrounding areas. 

As a kid, I remember some major storms, and I was renting a home in Nepean and watching trees fall around the house when the derecho hit in May of 2022. These events, and many others, are so pivotal that, for years after, people remember where they were when they happened — driving, watching strong winds cut across farmers’ fields, at the office during a power outage, or maybe at home, sheltering in place. 

But these events that once seemed so rare and monumental now seem more and more common. Updated data is showing that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency. 

That’s why city councillors — particularly those whose wards were most severely affected — are rallying for better support, now and in the future, and for assessments at all levels of government to understand how to prevent, mitigate, and address these events. 

As residents continue to sort through ruined belongings and navigate insurance companies and city programs, here’s what some of Ottawa’s city councillors are advocating for.

Let’s get to it.

— Sarah MacFarlane-Youngdale, Ottawa Lookout senior editor. [email protected].

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By Sarah MacFarlane-Youngdale. Read the story online here.

After the Canada Day rainstorm resulted in more than 6,600 basement floods and power outages impacting more than 30,000 residents, city council has approved new steps to support Ottawa residents in the ongoing repair and recovery, even as reports continue to roll in and illustrate just how widespread the damage is.

The storm, which brought historic levels of rainfall to Ottawa on July 1, left widespread property damage and road closures in its wake. City data says approximately 100 residents have been displaced from their homes, and more than 2,600 tonnes of storm debris have been collected by city services. 

In Nepean’s College Ward, Coun. Laine Johnson said 25 clusters in her catchment were dramatically affected. City data showed that College submitted the highest number of service requests to the city: a total of 2,282; the next highest was Bay ward, which submitted 1,512, according to a memo sent on July 11. Those numbers have since risen.

Johnson has been working closely with the mayor, city staff, other councillors, and community organizations to provide support, and has spent the days since the flood knocking on doors, meeting with residents and assisting with cleanup.

She said residents were feeling “very abandoned” in the first days after the storm, often faced with damage that surpassed the amount that their insurance was willing to cover, and many were grappling with navigating city aid or support programs while working on repairs.

“There are these two parts. One is the emergency response, and the other is the infrastructure assessment,” said Johnson. “And residents want to know that both are going to be performing at their best, for when residents are left with a very serious disaster on their hands.”