The City of St. Catharines has declared a significant weather event following the heavy rain over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s Kiwanis Aquatics Centre lobby, washrooms, change rooms and shower facilities opened to the public at 5:30 a.m. on Monday to support residents who may not have access to such amenities.<\/p>\n
This is not the first time St. Catharines residents have had to pump water out of their flooding basements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an open hole and the water\u2019s just gushing and it\u2019s sewage, I know it\u2019s sewage. It\u2019s clean water and within an hour, it\u2019s brown and you know what it is. And what do you do? You can\u2019t stop it,\u201d William Heerschap, a city resident, tells CHCH News.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got two pumps going that can\u2019t keep up. We\u2019re not equip for this, we\u2019re homeowners. Nobody expects this, not twice in a way, less than a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like they kind of left us stranded. It looks like a hurricane went through when you drive down the streets, there\u2019s just stuff all over everybody\u2019s lawn,\u201d says Kevin Lanthier, who owns a home in St. Catharines.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I know, the city is going to do reimbursements for prevention methods but that doesn\u2019t help right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call for help in the wake of devastating flooding was echoed in a social media post by St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe Sunday night which he recorded and posted from his own flooded basement.<\/p>\n
WATCH MORE: St. Catharines residents call for provincial help after disastrous flooding<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe City of St. Catharines for the second time in five days is dealing with more than 100 millimetres of rain, about a hurricane\u2019s worth dropped on the city in a short period of time,\u201d Mayor Mat Siscoe says.<\/p>\n Siscoe called on both the provincial and federal governments to provide support as he said the city has been left to fend for itself.<\/p>\n Niagara Mayor Jim Diodati said in a social media post that his basement also wasn\u2019t spared by the flooding.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been flooded out. I\u2019ve been hearing about it, reading about it in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake and now I get a taste of it. It\u2019s not a nice feeling. I feel really helpless and there\u2019s nothing you can do about it,\u201d Diodati says.<\/p>\n To assist clean-up efforts, the city says it\u2019s expanding its enhanced waste collection starting on Monday.<\/p>\n Until Friday, the city will pick up unlimited regular household garbage bags and cans, as well as larger household items such as furniture and construction material.<\/p>\n Items must be placed four feet from the roadway by 7 a.m. Appliances, household hazardous waste and batteries are not accepted.<\/p>\n As a result of the flooding, Fourth Avenue in City of St. Catharines at Seventh Street Louth and Third Street Louth is closed. Victoria Avenue (Regional Road 24) in Town of Lincoln, Ont. at the railway underpass is also closed.<\/p>\n More information on what residents can do if their basements flooded can be found on the City of St. Catharines\u2019 website<\/a>.<\/p>\n