Long wait to rebuild taking heavy toll on flood victims

Renaud Arnaud was at the supermarketearlier this week when the rainstorm hit.

He dropped his groceries, headed for his car and raced home to Pointe Gatineauto see if water was pouring into his house.

When you've been through that flooding, you always have in the back of your mind that it could come back.- Renaud Arnaud

When he heard the rain, his mind had immediately gone back to thatday in May when the floodwater was at its height and soldiers stood outside his front door.

"It's quite stressful," said Arnaud, recalling theday in the grocery store. "I thought, oh my God, I should go back home to see if everything's OK. Then you get in the car and drive back and realize it's half crazy."

He knows the flashbacksaren'trational. But he can't seem to stop them.

"When you've been through that flooding you always have in the back of your mind that it could come back."

Arnaud's wife,GeneviveMercier,feels the same way, and she worries about her neighbours who refused to leave their homes despite the evacuation order. One manwas recently hospitalizedbecause of the stress, Merciersaid.

"The adrenaline rush is over and now people are just faced with the reality, with a house that is destroyed."

Lives in limbo

CBC News is following the experiences of two families on either side of the Ottawa River as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives in the aftermath of the flood.

• Families rush to make repairs, if they're lucky

Arnaud and Mercier's waterfront home isa place with special meaning: itwasMercier'sfather's until he died in thefall of 2015. The couplewas supposed to move into the house this summer, anddreamed of raisingLeoniethere. Nowthat dream's on hold.

The family is luckier than many: they still own the condo where they were living before the flood, and where they've been staying while they wait to rebuild. But they're carrying two mortgages, and don't know how long they can afford to keep it up.

"It's just pure stress," saidMercier.

Like many flood victims,ArnaudandMercierfeellike the governments of Quebec andGatineauhave forgotten about their family.They've been waiting for a month for an inspection report from the province. Without thereport, they can't get a permit from the city to start rebuilding their home, which was severely damaged.

When the flood hit,ArnaudandMercier'sdaughterLeoniewas crawling. Nowshe's walking.

"I guess kids are quicker than government," jokedMercier.

"You want to move forward and have that in the past," saidArnaud. "The hardest part is not moving on."

They'll need a new heating system and new insulation before winter comes.

"It's stressful because the clock is ticking," saidMercier.

On top of it all, the couple isjuggling full-time jobs with raising a young daughter.

"For the last three months I haven't seen her that much," saidArnaud.

Financial gamble

Across the river, another flood-stricken coupleis taking a gamble.

The Washers started repairing their home in Cumberland this weeka job they're expecting to cost more than $50,000even though they have no assurance the workwill be covered through the Ontario government's disaster recovery assistance program.

Michael and Jackie Washer moved back into their longtime home on Boise Lane after a month living out of a hotel room.

The couple racked up a hotel bill of more than $4,000, which they're hoping to recoup. Jackie's ongoing health issues makeit difficult for her to move around, and she sometimes uses a wheelchair.

"It was just too much," said Michael. "After a month of living in what was effectively a concrete box, havingtouse a lift anytime we had to go anywhere, it just became financially and emotionally too difficult."

They've been living without hot water or the use of laundry machines since June 1.This week contractors began installing their new water and HVAC systems.

The bill to fix their home is turning out to be double their initialestimate. They'll pay for the repairs themselves, then submit a claim to the province, along with receipts and photos.

There are no guarantees.

"It's a wait and see," said Michael."I'mhoping Iget some of the money back, if not all of it back."

Washer plans to continue working for another five years, and had hoped to be in better financial shape when he retires.

"If we don't get paid, it will be a severe financial shock," he said.