Rockcliffe residents reeling from Toronto flood damage
CBC
Residents in the city's Rockcliffe neighbourhood are struggling in the aftermath of last week's severe storm, which flooded their already flood-prone neighbourhood.
Toronto was pummelled with close to 100 millimetres of rain on July 16, which made the street in front of Brandon Price's rental home on Cordella Avenue look more like a river.
Rockcliffe-Smythe, an area the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has labelled as vulnerable to floods, is located west of Weston Road and north of Dundas Street W.
On Monday, Price was among those sorting personal items into the trash for city pickup.
Much was ruined on the property he shares with his wife and two-year-old daughter, he said, which was "just bathing in water for several hours."
Toronto is working on implementing a flood mitigation strategy for the neighbourhood, but concrete changes are still years away, according to city timelines.
In an email, a spokesperson said the city also studied 67 areas — Rockcliffe included — to determine the cause of basement flooding and develop improvement plans for sewers. However, no work has been done yet.
In the meantime, residents have been offered no-fault grants for flooding damage. But several people told CBC Toronto that the process has been confusing — leaving them unsure of how to get help.
Price estimates about half-a-metre of water rushed into his garage — leaving behind a smell of sewage he said has yet to dissipate.
Though Price received a letter this week from his local city councillor, Frances Nunziata, advising homeowners they can apply for a $7,500 no-fault grant for basement flooding damages, he said that does little to help him.
Price said his landlord would need to apply, and the money wouldn't go to him as the tenant.
He said the flood resulted in thousands of dollars in damaged property, including items from his wedding, baby toys and collectables. The couple's insurance will only cover up to $5,000, which Price said he doesn't believe will cover what was lost.
"It damaged our water heater as well," he said Monday. "We haven't had hot water since Tuesday."
Usman T Khan, an associate professor of civil engineering at York University who studied the Rockcliffe neighbourhood, said storms overwhelm its drainage system.