SIOUX LOOKOUT—Local residents and businesses impacted by flooding continue to wait for word from the province on a flood area designation.
As they wait, the Township of Sioux Lookout provided an update. Municipal CAO, Michelle Larose, shared the outcome of her conversations with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“In conversations with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing today, the Ministry advised that a decision on the “flood area” designation will be coming in the very near future,” explained Municipal CAO, Michelle Larose. “It is our understanding that it was particularly challenging for the ministry to assist, as the provincial government was in the midst of an election, which delayed the decision,” Larose added, noting, “no other communities received this designation either during the election period.”
The municipal CAO further explained the fact that in order to access the province disaster recovery funding, and the Disaster Recovery assistance for Ontarians, the municipality must gain designation.
Larose adds, “We will continue to accept photos and descriptions of areas impacted by flooding, to further document the impact and to assist in our efforts to implement significant flood mitigation strategies for future flooding events.”
In addition to receiving specific information from property owners impacted by the flooding, the municipality has conducted its own analysis by surveying the extent of the flood areas. All of this information attained by the municipality has been given to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and will be used by the municipality for recovery and mitigation planning.
Clean up efforts continue, which the municipality plans on doing in phases, as the water recedes.
“To further assist residents with clean-up efforts, the municipality will be providing impacted residents with cards to use at the landfill to dispose of waste resulting from the flooding, and making arrangements for the collection of sandbags from those who required them to help mitigate flooding, once they are no longer needed to protect their properties,” explained Mayor Doug Lawrance. “Details on these supports will be communicated to the public in the coming days,” Lawrance concluded.
The municipality continues to document all municipal costs associated with repairs and mitigation responses to the flood. According to the municipality, this action is taken, in the event that the municipality may become eligible for a different stream of provincial disaster recovery funding, which is targeted at municipalities that have incurred infrastructure damage.
Up until now residents are being told that the municipality continues to calculate their estimates regarding the costs to repair infrastructure affected by the flooding, since, full extent of damages and costs of repair cannot be calculated until the floodwaters have receded.
Property owners who have suffered damage to their principal residence or business may still contact the municipality to share their information at 737-2700 from 8 a.m. -4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
