Canadian forces in Bracebridge to help battle rising floodwaters
Posted April 28, 2019 10:06 am.
Last Updated April 28, 2019 4:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BRACEBRIDGE (680 NEWS) — The Canadian Armed Forces have arrived in the town of Bracebridge to help the flood weary community deal record floodwaters.
Mayor Graydon Smith says a total of 60 reservists from Toronto are being deployed with 30 already in the area assisting with sandbagging and delivery efforts and another 30 on the way.
Smith says 27,000 sandbags have been distributed up to this point.
WATCH: Ottawa riverside communities still dealing with flooding crisis
Smith says while the north branch of the Muskoka river seems to be stabilizing, the south branch continues to rise and remains a concern for low-lying areas along the river. And while the next few days are expected to be dry, the forecast is for rain up to 25 mm of rain on on Wednesday.
“That may not mean a huge impact in terms of level spikes but it might mean a delayed impact on the water levels receding,” said Smith.
“This flood event is not over yet, sadly.”
The town of Bracebridge is once again asking those who want to come up and check on any property they own in the area to please stay away for the time being, pointing out that there are at least 15 separate road closures in the area due to flooding.
Smith also took aim at thrill seekers, noting there were people on jet skis and a boat at the mouth of the river “touring around” on Saturday.
“First of all its very dangerous for them to be doing it due to the massive amount of debris in the water and how fast the water is moving,” explained Smith. “Second of all, there are people down there actively trying to sandbag their properties and then they had to deal with this wake off these watercraft that were going through there.”
“That’s unacceptable.”
