Tecumseh residents urged to have flood shelter plan in place

With water levels already reaching record highs, Tecumseh Mayor Gary Mcnamara is warning residents threatened by flooding that they need to make their own plans for evacuating to a shelter, because of physical distancing restrictions.

“Make sure you’ve got enough provisions, medications, clothing and an actual place to go,” he told the Star. “The difficulty that we’re faced with right now is the other issue of COVID -19, where you can’t assemble more than five people, so it’s very hard to have a reception centre.”

Officials in Windsor have made similar warnings to people threatened by overland flooding, particularly in the Riverside area.

Mcnamara said residents should book hotel rooms or find relatives they can stay with. They also should be preparing 72-hour emergency kits and identifying seniors who may need help evacuating.

“Without a vaccine, and I see that as an improbability, we have to also protect our citizens from COVID -19. I don’t see areas where we can congregate individuals,” he added.

“That’s why it’s critical that they make arrangements today, in lieu of waiting right to the last minute.”

During last year’s flooding, a temporary shelter was set up for families at St. Anne Catholic High School in Lakeshore. But that’s not possible this year because of the risk of spreading the virus, said Mcnamara.

Water levels so far in 2020 are much higher, according to Richard Wyma, executive director of the Essex Region Conservation Authority. ERCA has implemented a flood watch from May through to October.

Measurements show Lake St. Clair started April with water levels 34 centimetres higher than this time last year. Lake Erie started the month 33 centimetres higher.

ERCA issued a flood warning for the Lake Erie shoreline, stretching between Wheatley Harbour and Point Pelee National Park, because of high winds causing waves to breach the shoreline. Some flooding has already been seen in the area.

Updates to Tecumseh’s mapping of flood risk zones — recommended to all municipal governments in the Ontario government’s flood risk report — were completed earlier this year. The update found that out of the roughly 9,800 homes in Tecumseh, more than 5,500 are at risk of flooding this year.