Seven people and a number of pets have been evacuated from their homes on Siskind Court in Chatham.
Assistant Fire Chief Chris Case says the evacuation procedures started this morning.
“This morning at around 8:30, a concerned relative called our dispatch to say that she was concerned about her parents who live [on Siskind Court]. They weren’t answering their telephone, so we sent a fire truck to check on them. Station 211 attended and found that there was a number of houses that were affected by flood water,” explains Case.
He says that’s when they started the evacuation.
“That puts in a whole new operation for us. What we do then is first of all, we dress fire fighters in immersion suits. The fire fighters go to the door and check if everybody is okay. They went around and checked around 13 homes to see who was in and who was answering the door,” says Case.
“We realized we had about 4 or 5 houses where people were inside. Then we’ve got the issue of how do we get them out, because the water is quite high. So that’s when we sent in our specialist dive and water rescue team. They came in and brought specialist equipment, including the boat. We’ve rescued a number of pets, and 7 people from their homes,” Case says.
Case made the comments around 11:00 this morning.
Mayor Randy Hope made a statement earlier this morning, around 9:00.
According to the municipality, peak levels in the Thames River through Chatham are expected to hit between 7-9pm tonight.
The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority says the water is already at the level of the 1977 flood, and could raise by another 12 inches.
Officials say the flow rate in the river is 800 cubic metres per second.
Reports say downtown Chatham is busy with onlookers, but Randy Hope is urging extreme caution for anyone getting close to flooded areas.
Municipal representatives say “the water level in Thamesville is expected to remain high for several days although Union Gas will begin turning on service for some of the 400 customers which has supplies turned off yesterday due to the danger.”
Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency Services is asking anyone who knows someone who lives near the river, to check up on them throughout the day to make sure they don’t get trapped in their homes.
A Chatham-Kent resident has posted a video showing aerial footage of the flood in Chatham this morning.
