Flooding prompts Windsor, Ont. mayor to declare state of emergency

Windsor, Ont. Mayor Drew Dilkens declared a state of emergency after the massive flooding that hit the region Thursday.

He said damages to people's homes and businesses are going to be too overwhelming and he plans to ask senior levels of government for help.
■Windsor-Essex flood response keeping city crews busy

"This is beyond the reasonable capacity of the city to handle," he said at a news conference. "It's beyond the capacity of the residents to handle."

The city received 700 flood-related calls to its 311 service centre, which saw call volumes triple the normal level. Dilkens reminds residents to keep calling, if they get a busy signal.

He wants to tap into a provincial emergency fund, saying officials will apply to see if the city is eligible.

"We want to do everything we can. We're not shirking our responsibilities," he said.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...ency-1.3784575

The clearing skies this afternoon is just a temporary lull in the torrential rainfall that has already pummelled Windsor and Essex County Thursday, forcing some motorists to abandon their vehicles on flooded roadways.

“We may get some breaks here and there, but unfortunately with this low-pressure system parking itself in southern Indiana it’s going to keep sending these streams of moisture northward over the next couple of days,” Environment Canada spokesman Geoff Coulson said this afternoon, forecasting that the next big rain is coming across Lake Erie and should arrive in Windsor-Essex by about 4:30 p.m.

How much rain will fall will be “highly variable,” according to Environment Canada’s alert for Windsor and Essex County, but it should range between 40 and 70 mm over the rest of today and Friday. The latest rain measurements taken at 2 p.m. show that 78 mm has fallen at Windsor Airport in the last 24 hours. But volunteers living near Lake St. Clair are reporting much more significant rainfall — 115 mm in Belle River and 120 to 160 mm in Tecumseh. Meanwhile, volunteers in Leamington report 50 mm of rain.
The average rainfall in Windsor is 94 mm for the entire month of September.

The rain is being produced by a slow moving low pressure system over the Ohio Valley.

Thursday morning, deserted vehicles scattered the intersection of Tecumseh Road East at Lesperance Road as the storm water rose across the county.



East Windsor and Tecumseh appear to be the hardest hit so far as emergency services reported numerous road closures.

Windsor police reported a sinkhole on Lilac Lane between Lauzon Road and Esplanade Drive.

Tecumseh fire said Tecumseh Road East between Lesperance and Southfield Drive is flooded.

Riverside Drive East between Pillette and Lauzon roads is closed because of flooding.