Tecumseh flood leaves 1,700 homeowners with thousands of dollars worth of damages

Tecumseh flood leaves 1,700 homeowners with thousands of dollars worth of damages

After the flood caused a state of emergency in Windsor Essex, residents of Tecumseh have been left with long term expenses and damaged property

Most Tecumseh residents could never have imagined waking up on Sept. 29 to find people canoeing down their streets, but that is exactly what happened. With around 12 inches of water on some roads in Tecumseh, people could not leave home.

Residents bought water pumps, dehumidifiers and fans to dry up the water but it still was not enough.

“I knew I had a lot of things down there that were important to me,” said Bob Garbula, a teacher at St. Pius Catholic Grade School who was working at the time of the flood. He was forced to walk home.

“I couldn’t find the sidewalk most of the time, I had to feel with my feet to see where the sidewalk was. It was over my knees at different points and it took a long time to get home.”

Garbula managed to save some very important belongings from the flood, but he had to renovate his entire basement because of the extensive damage.

“We had pictures from years ago on the bottom shelving unit we had down there… thousands of pictures. It’s very disheartening,” said Garbula.

He said he will continue renovating into the winter months because of the effect of damage done to his basement.

The flood has affected everyone in different ways, some saw it as exciting and a way to have fun.

Another Tecumseh resident, Scott Walker, was also affected by the flood.

“I was very excited but also upset,” said Walker. “I’d never seen a flood this big, but cleaning up the mess was not very fun. I had spent a couple nights cleaning everything and had to throw a lot of things out.”

Walker’s basement was flooded with three inches of water, ruining personal belongings and important family documents. Although his basement now seems completely dried out, he says there is still work to be done.