Peterborough marks 20th anniversary of major flood of 2004

The City of Peterborough has launched an online interactive story-map that marks nan 20th day of nan 2004 flood that devastated galore sections of nan city.

Monday marked 20 years since unprecedented rainfall connected July 15, 2004, flooded streets, damaging homes, businesses and properties crossed nan city.

Mayor Jeff Leal and erstwhile politician Sylvia Sutherland, who was successful agency during nan time of nan flood, met Monday adjacent Jackson Creek successful nan city’s downtown to people nan anniversary.

Leal, successful 2004 a recently elected MPP for nan riding of Peterborough-Kawartha, said he will ne'er hide nan wide damage.

“As a recently elected MPP, I was profoundly concerned astir nan wellbeing of Peterborough residents who were facing unthinkable adversity,” he said. “What happened successful nan pursuing days was inspirational; neighbours helped 1 another, unpaid organizations converged to thief pinch betterment efforts, and each levels of authorities provided support.”

Rainfall records show nan mostly of rainfall fell successful an uninterrupted 10-hour play betwixt 10 p.m. connected July 14, and 8 a.m. connected July 15, 2004. The highest recorded rainfall was successful nan city’s northbound extremity astatine Trent University, which reported 220 mm rainfall (250 mm total, aliases complete 9.8 inches). Rainfall ranged from 115 mm to a precocious of 250 mm crossed nan city.

Hundreds of group were forced to time off their homes, including 171 residents astatine nan Extendicare semipermanent attraction home.

Sutherland declared a authorities of emergency which remained successful effect until July 30, 2004.

“I saw my domiciled fundamentally arsenic communicating pinch nan people, getting retired location erstwhile I could to spot what was happening and to talk to people,” Sutherland told Global News. “Just to promote them, to opportunity ‘this is not going to past forever, et. cetera. Meanwhile, things were happening.”

According to Otonabee Conservation’s “Floodplain Mapping 2022,” nan flood besides saw:

• 25 group who were trapped in, aliases connected vehicles, that required rescuing
• firefighters pumping retired 1,868 basements, garages and backyards
• 500 homes and businesses that had hydro metres removed from basements
• 1,000 homes had state lines disconnected

The Salvation Army reported providing thousands of meals and thousands of dollars to residents to acquisition clothing.

The metropolis by nan extremity of July had reported much than 40 group had been near homeless.

Trending Now

The metropolis says nan harm to backstage spot and infrastructure was much than $100 million, including $21 cardinal for nationalist infrastructure.

The Ontario authorities provided $25 cardinal for emergency repairs for metropolis infrastructure.

“The overwhelming support from emergency responders crossed nan state allowed our organization to retrieve faster than expected,” Leal said. “The 2004 flood was a turning constituent successful nan city’s finance successful flood mitigation infrastructure and coming we are overmuch much resilient to nan impacts of ambiance change.”

Sutherland says nan tone of nan organization shone brightest arsenic neighbours and strangers bonded to thief support each other.

“We person a existent organization here,” she said. “That’s what it taught me.”

The metropolis says since nan incident, its flood simplification maestro plan identified nan Central Area Flood Reduction task arsenic apical priority. Completed past twelvemonth pinch national and provincial backing, nan task included a monolithic underground culvert to divert imaginable surges of flood h2o from Jackson Creek astir nan downtown core.

Michael Papadacos, nan city’s plus guidance and superior readying director, says nan aftermath of nan flood propelled nan metropolis a decade up of different municipalities successful emergency planning.

“The city’s inventory of assets — successful position of each that which we ain — is astir $6 cardinal and almost one-third of that is successful large wind h2o infrastructure. So nan halfway assets of sewers, drinking water, stormwater and roads,” he said.

The metropolis now has an online tract peterborough.ca/2004flood to commemorate nan day and offers residents a look backmost astatine nan 2004 flood and investments successful flood mitigation infrastructure.

Flood consequence areas are now mapped utilized precocious technology. The metropolis says nan exertion tin thief make informed decisions connected infrastructure investments. The metropolis besides offers an overview of its stormwater guidance strategy and programme astatine peterborough.ca/waterandsewers.

more to come