Niagara flood cleanup will take weeks, says acting regional chair Insinna

Debris removal will continue across Niagara for weeks after two storms flooded homes and businesses throughout the region, acting regional chair Tom Insinna said Tuesday in his first public statement on the disaster.

Insinna, who also serves as Fort Erie’s regional councillor, issued the written statement on Tuesday, one day after St. Catharines and Lincoln declared states of emergency. The province has promised recovery support but has not said whether homeowners will receive direct financial help.

“To every resident who has lost cherished belongings, been displaced from their home or is facing the emotional and financial strain of rebuilding: we see you, we stand with you and we will not leave you to face this alone,” Insinna said in the statement.

Insinna took over as acting chair under a council rotation after Bob Gale resigned in March. The province has not yet decided who will fill the post permanently.

Insinna said regional and local infrastructure performed as designed and that no municipal system could have absorbed so much rain in such a short period.

He thanked the province for what he called “urgently needed relief,” but did not say what that relief includes.

The first storm hit overnight between Monday, July 27, and Tuesday, July 28, when residents, business owners and farmers in Niagara woke to flooded properties and damaged crops.

A second storm struck on Sunday, August 2. Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for Fort Erie that morning, and forecasters expected more than 50 millimetres of rain before a tornado warning went up as the storm worsened.

The back-to-back storms dumped a combined 250 millimetres of rain on parts of the region, about a quarter of its typical annual precipitation over three days, The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday.

Debris and waste pickup will continue across the region “over the coming weeks,” Insinna said.

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