Record-setting flood waters still on the rise in central Ontario

Flood waters in the Huntsville and Bracebridge areas of central Ontario appear to have leveled off as of this morning, but a state of emergency still exists in the area as authorities work to assess the damage and keep residents safe.

[ Related: Roads closed, homes evacuated in central Ontario flooding ]

According to Environment Canada's Water Office, the north branch of the Muskoka River rose to by over a metre and a half, twice the level it was at earlier last week, and the levels peaked just before midnight last night. The south branch of the river rose by over a metre in the same time span, and it apparently had still not reached a maximum level as of 10 a.m. today. Levels on the East River rose by around three metres, cresting early on Saturday morning, and have been slowly going down since.

In Huntsville, authorities are reporting that water levels appear to have crested in the downtown area and some areas are seeing water levels start to go down.

"I think it’s going to be days before we’re back to normal water levels," said Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty, according to CottageCountryNow.ca. "There’s a lot of water coming still and Lake Vernon is full, full, full."

In Bracebridge, water levels are holding high today, but the flooding was apparently not as bad as authorities had anticipated.

"We were pleased we didn’t see the peak flow manifest in the way we feared," said Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith, according to CottageCountryNow.ca.

"The update today is the [Ministry of Natural Resources] is a little better able to manage water levels – we’re still anticipating some variance but it is a sustained event."

Residents are still being warned to stay away from waterways, especially the Muskoka River, Black River and Big East River, as water and runoff from melting snows continues to wend its way through the local watershed.

Many residents had already been forced from their homes by the rising waters — an estimated 100-125 in Huntsville (according to CottageCountryNow.ca) and around 1,000 in Bracebridge (according to CBC News). As of this morning, residents of Bracebridge were still being warned to be ready to evacuate.

Numerous roads are still closed in both Bracebridge and Huntsville, due to flooding or washouts — including a 35-km stretch of Highway 11 between the two towns — and electricity in several of the affected areas has been shut off as a safety precaution.

[ More Geekquinox: Earliest-ever tornado touchdown for central Ontario ]

To help those displaced by the flooding, the town of Bracebridge opened up the Bracebridge Sportsplex and the Oakley Village Square as 24-hour temporary shelters, and the Salvation Army is helping those in the Huntsville area who can't find hotel accommodations.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, several other areas are still under flood watches and flood warnings, that include North Bay and Sudbury, and Kawartha Lakes and the Otonabee River. These conditions are due to an intense line of storms that swept through the area on Thursday and Friday, dumping up to 50 mm of rain over some areas in southern Ontario and causing a tornado touchdown — the earliest ever recorded for Ontario — northwest of Shelburne.

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