Mild temperatures lead to flooding
ServiceMaster Restore says it was busy on Sunday but it’s been worse
A few days of mild temperatures caused some flooding over the weekend across P.E.I. but nothing the experts haven’t seen before.
Josh Farquharson, general manager at ServiceMaster Restore, said the phone started ringing around 6 a.m. Sunday and didn’t stop until 6 p.m.
“It was busy yesterday . . . probably a dozen calls type thing, but nothing too major. I was expecting a lot more,’’ Farquharson said. (The calls) were mostly water in basements and infiltrating all around.’’
Irwin and Kathy Mossman of the Horne Cross Road woke up Sunday morning to find their back yard had been converted into a pool.
“Irwin went to take the dog out and he said, ‘OK, guess we’ll not be going out into the backyard’. By the afternoon, the water had receded. We didn’t have a whole lot of damage,’’ Kathy Mossman said. “We did get some in our basement and our driveway was a little bit of a wash but, for the most part, it’s OK now.’’
The normal high for this time of year is around -1 C, but the weather these past few days has been hitting 8 C.
The temperature peaked at just under 10 C on Friday, just short of a record day.
Mossman said they’ve seen the flooding worse.
“We have a sump pump and we didn’t get a whole lot. We didn’t even get enough to even bother mentioning in the basement. It’s not finished anyway, so it’s no big deal.’’
Farquharson said he’s used to getting this kind of snow melt in April.
“February is a bit of an oddity, but I have seen it before. We haven’t seen it the last couple of years just because of the snow pack.’’
There are things people can do to help reduce the amount of water that seeps indoors.
“Just ensure the sump pumps are hooked up and in good working order. (It’s also) great if people can get their downspouts and eavestroughs aiming away from the house. And, make sure window wells are cleared out, too.’’ And, if that doesn’t work? “We’re here for anyone who needs us.’’