Leamington mayor hopes for provincial help after 300 structures damaged by storm and waves
Having lived on three different lakes in the province, Jerry Westfall is no stranger to storms and the damage they can cause.
But now he's thinking differently, after a break wall gave way and a large tree uprooted, falling onto his home on Marentette Beach in Leamington.
"Once the tree hit the deck and crushed it, knocked it off, it's kind of stunning," said Westfall, looking out onto his damaged property where he's lived for ten years.
"We've had a lot of storms here and we haven't had any damage until now."
A clean up crew told him his house was solid, but didn't want people inside of it. Westfall said he's now at the mercy of an insurance company.
"I just don't know what to do … I'm waiting for something to happen here," he said.
A "travesty" but maybe not a "disaster"
Leamington Mayor John Paterson said despite the heavy rainfall, it was the high lake levels and winds that caused the bulk of the damage.
"They were huge, the waves were anywhere from 10 to 14 feet high coming into the shorelines and just going right over whatever break walls people had," said Paterson.
"The roads were covered in water, people's yards, stuff that was in the lake had been thrown up into people's houses," he said.
Six to eight homes have been deemed uninhabitable, according to Paterson, and large sections of roads have been washed away.
"Pretty much everyone has lost part, if not all of their armour stone break walls that may have been there," he said. "It really is a travesty what's happened down there."
On Tuesday, crews were evaluating a 10 km stretch of shoreline and about 300 structures, said the mayor. Once they are done, they'll submit a report to the province to see if they may declare the area a disaster.
The bulk of the damaged happened from Wheatley Harbour all the way to Point Pelee National Park, said Paterson.
The harbours didn't seem to sustain much damage.
The municipality has set up a dedicated email and phone line for those whose residences have been affected by the flooding. People can contact 519-325-5969 or floodinfo@leamington.ca
