“This isn't just spring time happening.”
Those words from Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith at a news conference this morning where he updated the situation about the rising water levels, less than 24 hours after declaring a flood emergency.
He said the flooding is way outside the normal margins.
Smith said the town thought the flooding was a 100 year event and yet six years later something very similar is taking place.
The mayor was flanked by Premier Ford who is in Muskoka to check on the flood situation.
Asked about financial assistance the province could provide the town, Ford said he would let the mayor decide what is needed and the government will accomodate that once the request comes in.
The town says water volumes on the North Branch Muskoka River are expected to exceed levels reached in 2013, when the region saw its worst flooding in a century.
Water volumes on the South Branch Muskoka River are approaching 2013 levels and are expected to rise over the coming days.
The mayor said neighbours need to check on neighbours, especially those who are vulnerable.
A number of roads are washed out by the rising waters and the mayor expects hydro will have to be cut to some homes for safety.
