TORONTO – During an interview on The Morning Show on Monday, contractor and handyman Mike Holmes talked about his recent trip to flood-ravaged High River in Alberta.
Holmes said he has met with residents to discuss the current state of their homes, what happened, why it happened and the aftermath – what he refers to as “the storm after the storm.”
READ MORE: Mike Holmes lends voice to help High River homeowners
Holmes said many residents need to understand that they may not be able to go home anytime soon and need to work together as a team.
“Realize it’s going to take a year to two years, minimum, to get back if you have been red flagged,” Holmes said. “A lot of these houses have to come down.”
A colour-coded system was put in place as part of the re-entry program for residents after a flood in June submerged the town, forcing an evacuation of High River.
Homes that were flagged “green” meant the home was habitable. Yellow meant minor damage; orange signified major renovations would be needed.
Red flags meant homes were severely damaged and uninhabitable.
READ MORE: New numbers show scope of June floods
The Alberta government estimates that 14,500 homes were affected by the floods. To date, approximately 2,700 Albertans are still out of their homes and are living in temporary neighbourhoods, hotels or with friends and family.
The new season of “Homes Makes it Right” is set to premiere Tuesday night on HGTV Canada.
– With a file from Tamara Elliot, Global News
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