Sydney residents begin cleaning up flood mess

Residents living in homes flooded by Monday's torrential rainstorm are doing a lot of lugging this week.

Lugging soaked carpets, sodden flooring, drenched drywall and household items out of basements and downstairs rooms that were submerged when the region was hit by 225 millimetres of rain.

Troy MacDonald, a Glace Bay construction project manager, says most people are coping with flooded basements.

"Some from anywhere from four inches of water, some with three or four feet of water, with contaminants, sewage, there's furniture floating around. So it's pretty devastating."

He said flood damage in a typical furnished basement in a bungalow can run from $40,000 to $60,000.

Do-it-yourself tips

MacDonald had a few tips for people who are tackling the cleanup themselves.

• Seek advice before beginning any work.
• Call in an electrician to make sure it is safe to work in the area.
• Wear protective equipment such as gloves or a mask.

The municipality is compiling a damage assessment list and urges affected residents to call its help desk at 902-562-HELP (4357). Crews are being sent out to neighbourhoods to take a look at properties, some of which were swamped with water containing sewage and fuel oil.

"They are very busy and they are backed up but it is important to call one of them and get your name on the list and they'll send somebody over to assess the amount of time required to do what needs to be done and the workload and prioritize you and get you on a list," Deputy Fire Chief Chris March said Thursday.

In the meantime, he advised residents to wipe down and quickly dry items with hard surfaces to avoid mould.

"Any soft surfaces such as clothing, blankets, carpet, it is imperative that you get that out of the house as quick as possible. Put it on the curbside."

March also suggested thoroughly documenting and photographing any damage for insurance purposes.

Heavy garbage collection

Heavy garbage pickup crews have begun to deal with piles of water-damaged items.

"We want this done fast, we're moving immediately with it," said municipalityspokeswoman Christina Lamey. "Literally, people should put it all out now, for the coming days, on their regular garbage day. They are taking everything."

Residents are asked to keep flood-damaged material in a separate area from regular household materials.

Homeowners are also flocking to the solid waste management facility on Spar Road with an influx of storm-related garbage.

That facility, which normally closes at 4 p.m., stayed open until 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and will also remain open until 6 p.m. Friday.

"They're lined up at the dump, just trying to get stuff in there, and get back to their homes," one Sydney contractor said.

Local contractors say they have been swamped by calls and requests for flood-damage restoration work.

Building permit fees waived

To speed things up and avoid causing more hardship, the municipality is waiving building permit fees and may call in professionals to help process permit applications to avoid a backlog, Mayor Cecil Clarke said Thursday.

The Cape Breton Regional Municipalityis also holding open house information sessions for those residents affected by the storm. Organizations and agencies involved in emergency response will be on hand to answer questions.

The first session will be held at Centre 200 in Buchanan Hall on Oct. 18. The second, on Oct. 19, will be held at the Glace Bay Fire Hall. They run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.