One year after flooding hit the streets of Thamesville, East Kent Councillor Steve Pinsonneault is still impressed with how well everyone involved responded to the event.
Pinsonneault described the week as hectic but, with Thamesville being no stranger to flooding, he believes the residents and municipality went into the situation well prepared.
"Living in Thamesville, we see a flood every ten years," he explained. "They erred on the side of caution. At the end of the day, I think the municipality operated quite well."
A state of emergency was declared in the community on February 23, 2018, after severe flooding along the Thames River. Pinsonneault said he heard a mix reaction for the decision to declare a state of emergency.
"About half of them thought it was good to be cautious," said Pinsonneault. "The other half thought it was overkill."
He said one of the biggest challenges of the situation was having to turn off gas for over 800 homes.
"A lot of people with older furnaces weren't able to get them relit," he explained. "That's one of the ugly parts of declaring a state of emergency."
Should another major flood hit Thamesville soon, Pinsonneault would like to see the same high level of communication between the residents and the municipality that was showcased in 2018.
"I think the big thing is getting it out to the public, making sure everyone knows it's coming," he said. "You usually have a few days before it gets here, it's not like a flash flood you see in the states. You can prepare your residents for what's coming and I think they have a pretty good network set up for that."
Overall, he said he believes strong preparation from residents and the municipality is the main thing that got them through the flooding.
