Streets in the City of Armstrong are no longer full of water. However, the receding flood has left behind a big clean-up job. More than two dozen residents are still out of their homes and restoration crews are hard at work fixing the damages.
“For Armstrong, it has been pretty devastating. We saw significant impacts to our business community,” said Warren Smith, the city’s community services manager.
Willowdale Drive was arguably the city’s hardest hit residential area. On Saturday, the road was submerged under murky flood waters.
An assisted living facility on the street had to be evacuated. The residents were moved to another seniors home or left to stay with relatives. They haven’t been able to return.
“Within their basement they’ve got approximately three feet of water that they’ve had to deal with and extract from their facility,” Smith said.
Now the flood waters have receded on Willowdale Drive and have been replaced with restoration crews.
It’s not just homeowners and businesses who have a long cleanup ahead. A local charity which helps people with disabilities is also assessing its damages.
Two Kindale Developmental Association locations in Armstrong were damaged by flooding. It could be weeks before they are able to reopen.
Clients who would usually come to the flooded Armstrong facilities for programming are being driven to Vernon. The flood has also impacted the utilities at the organization’s Armstrong thrift shop and has closed the shop since Saturday.
“We don’t want the thrift store to be closed for very long because we really count on the income from the thrift store to help us with our programming,” said Kindale spokesperson Cindy Masters.
As Armstrong starts to recover, the city is closely watching the forecast because of the possibility of rain later this week.
“We are cautioning our businesses and our residents to let them know… We need to be prepared for potential issues,” Smith said. “But at the same time, we want to be positive and we want to try to move on as much as possible.”
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