When Ross McLean returned to his home in Montreal two days after being forced to leave due to rising water levels, he found his basement submerged under five feet of water.
鈥淭he foundation is going to have to be totally redone, everything鈥檚 going to have to be ripped and gutted,鈥� McLean said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same for basically anybody else that鈥檚 along the water in old Ile Bizard.鈥�
McLean鈥檚 neighbourhood was hit hard in the flooding that prompted Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre to declare a state of emergency earlier this week. The heavy rains and subsequent flooding that began last week have forced 2,800 from their homes in 166 municipalities in Quebec.
McLean said he 鈥減ut up the good fight,鈥� but couldn鈥檛 keep the water out, and was forced to leave at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning.
鈥淚t just wasn鈥檛 safe when I saw that I was alone,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll my neighbours had already left.鈥�
McLean phoned the fire department, who advised him to leave, 鈥渟o I agreed to that and I shut down the power.鈥�
McLean鈥檚 in-laws took him in, but he has since returned to the neighbourhood to help with flooding efforts.
In an interview with 麻豆影视 Channel from his flooded neighbourhood, McLean described the conditions as 鈥渃old,鈥� and said the water only stopped rising in the street on Tuesday.
Helping others with recovery efforts, McLean said, is helping him deal with the magnitude of the disaster.
鈥淚 figure if I had bad memories that are going to pop up 鈥� the quicker that I get good memories to replace them, maybe that鈥檒l help.鈥�
The grim reality was setting in for Itsik Romano, who lives in Pierrefonds, Que. He visited his home for the first time since the flooding on Tuesday.
鈥淭he whole street is underwater, except at the ends, at the beginning and the end,鈥� he told 麻豆影视. 鈥淚n the middle, it鈥檚 a river. It鈥檚 quite crazy.鈥�
Romano said, despite best efforts, 鈥淥n Saturday and Sunday we knew we would not win the fight against the water flow.鈥�
Romano said he was given no 鈥渋nstructions鈥� during evacuation. And days later, he has 鈥渘o clue鈥� when he鈥檒l be allowed to go home.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 even know where to go to report the fact that our house is flooded and that we have damage,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ight now we are in the unknown zone.鈥�
On Wednesday, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly visited homes in her Montreal riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville grappling with the unrelenting floodwaters.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be in close contact with the province to make sure that people are supported,鈥� Joly said.
Approximately 1,700 Canadian Forces troops are helping with the flood recovery effort. Defence minister Harjit Sajjan says by the end of Wednesday, 2,200 troops would be involved in the flood fight. The Canadian Red Cross has set up a relief fund, with contributions from the federal and Quebec governments.
