Chatham

Chief Says 'The Danger Has Not Passed' With CK Flood 2018

As water levels continue to rise in the municipality, Chatham-Kent's Fire and EMS Chief is cautioning residents to stay safe.

Bob Crawford will be heading to Thamesville Saturday morning to check on levels, but so far he has not received any more alerts.

"Good news is we haven't had any emergency calls come in through the course of the night. We're still having flooding, but we don't have the degree of flooding that we anticipated," he says.

With water levels still expected to peak Saturday night, Crawford gives residents a few safety tips.

"The danger has not passed. We still have rushing waters in the Thames--right from Thamesville, right through our watercourse, right through Chatham," says Crawford. "It's really important to make sure we don't leave children unattended anywhere near water. Make sure you don't let your pets get in the water--the water looks surprisingly easy to navigate sometimes, but it is very dangerous."

Crawford says many residents are still dealing with damage to their homes as a result of the flooding, but only a handful of residents had to stay overnight at the John. D Bradley Centre's emergency shelter in Chatham.

"As of [Friday] evening, it was less than 10 people that availed themselves in that service. That already speaks to this community, we have a network of friends and relatives and it's not surprising that most people that decided to voluntary leave Thamesville on [Friday] went to their friends and relatives," says Crawford.

Crawford says the emergency operations committee will be meeting at the Civic Centre at 9am on Saturday. He says an update will be provided to the public shortly after.

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