Disaster assistance activated for Ottawa River flooding

Saturday, May 13, 2017, 6:49 PM - The Ontario government has announced disaster assistance for people affected by flooding in the Ottawa Valley this month.

Parts of the City of Ottawa, along with the municipalities of Clarence-Rockland, Alfred and Plantagenet, and Champlain, are covered by the declaration, which Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro made Friday. 

The province has published maps of areas within which residents will quality for assistance. In Ottawa itself, parts of the Bay, Cumberland and West Carleton March areas will be covered by the declaration, and those areas were the most acutely affected parts of the city. 

However, the Ottawa Citizen says people outside the designated areas might still qualify if they can prove they were affected by flooding on the river.

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The aid will be available to people whose homes need essential repairs after the flooding, which worsened at the beginning of May during a days-long rainfall event. It does not cover items that are covered under homeowners' insurance policy, nor does it cover secondary homes and cottages. People making a claim must submit their application by September 11, 2017.

This is the second time this month that the province activated the disaster recovery assistance program for communities in the Ottawa Valley. On May 5, the program was extended to a dozen communities within the County of Renfrew, including the Town of Renfrew and City of Pembroke

It's been one of the worst flood seasons in recent memory in central Canada this year. Though Ontario has experienced higher than normal water levels on Lake Ontario and some localized flooding, Quebec has been dealing with a flood crisis for several weeks due to a combination of torrential rains and snowmelt, with thousands of people forced to flee their homes and the military being called in.

SOURCE: Province of Ontario | Ottawa Citizen