Residents feel helpless after sewer backs up in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que. | CBC News

Homeowners in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., are asking for help after Friday’s heavy rain led to sewers backing up their basements — leaving some with thousands of dollars in damages.

Rick Aquino spent all day Saturday cleaning up and accepting most of Friday’s mess.

His parents have lived on Roosevelt Street for nearly three decades and until Friday they had never experienced a basement flood, he said.

“You never thought this would happen to us,” said Aquino, looking at the furniture, electrical appliances and other items scattered in the driveway that could be put away and thrown out. .

157 millimeters of rain fell on the island of Montreal on Friday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby drenched southern Quebec.

Within 45 minutes, water from outside and inside the house seeped into the property and reached knee-high levels, Aquino said.

He estimated the property loss to be about $50,000 for himself and his family. However, when he finally found his insurance company, they paid him $15,000.

“Nobody wants to do anything anymore. They don’t send developers, they just say ‘X’ amount of dollars because you’re in a flood zone – something we didn’t even know about,” he said. we.

Just a few doors away, members of the Singh family donned elbow-length cleaning gloves to try to get their house ready for the upcoming wedding.

“Everything was floating in the water,” said Arneet Singh, whose sister is getting married next month.

Her mother was able to save her daughter’s wedding dress, but she couldn’t save everything – including the family photo albums.

“That’s probably what hurts the most,” Singh said.

Unlike Aquino, they have not even been able to reach their insurance company. Each time they call, an automated message explains how busy the lines are before the call is dropped.

Singh himself works for an insurance company and says he thinks a lot about the future, considering the number of extreme weather events happening around the world.

“Everyone should be wearing a protective hat during this time,” he said.

WATCH | Costly effects of flooding on homeowners:

‘You are alone and helpless’

For neighbor Linda Moras, the key to moving on is accepting that it will take time for her home to feel comfortable again.

He went to bed at 4 a.m. Saturday and hadn’t even bothered to call his insurance company, saying he wanted to assess the damage first.

“You smell, you’re scary, and you’re worried about your health,” he said, referring to the dirty water that seeped into everything.

“You love yourself alone, you are useless,” said Moras. “We’re not 40 years old yet, so there’s a lot.”

The city says residents with concerns should reach out.

“As far as we know, the floodwaters were coming from storm drains and not sewers,” city spokeswoman Eftyhia Volakakis said in a statement to CBC News.

The city’s public works department targeted multiple flood zones, and all of the cases were caused by stormwater flooding.

Volakakis said crews worked Friday to “make sure the drains are working, the streets are clear, and [that] the traffic lights were working,” and that the safety and well-being of residents remains a priority.