Looking Back At The 2004 Peterborough Flood

Next month with mark the nine year anniversary of the 2004 Peterborough Flood.

The other day, at brunch with some friends, we all got to reminiscing about where we were when the flood happened, what we were doing, where we worked, who we were with. I have a hard time believe it was actually nine years ago. That seems like an eternity.

On July 15th, 2004, my hometown, Peterborough, Ontario, woke up to a flooded city after a night of non-stop rain. Our waterways couldn't handle it -- and the sewer system couldn't either. (See that white truck? That was my mother's. It was completely submerged in the parking lot -- she swam out the window.)



At the time I was living in a second floor apartment building, and working at a YMCA summer camp. I remember early morning phone calls and eventually the realization that this was no ordinary "rain day".

We all went to work, bailing out parts of the Because of the sewer issues, people in our city weren't just dealing with water damage -- they were dealing with losing entire floors of their homes to sewage. Floor to ceiling. Nothing could be saved.

Many people found themselves being turned down by their insurance if they hadn't opted in to specific flood damage policies, as often insurance companies don't cover "acts of god" ie. flooding, or other natural disasters. When I first had to purchase content insurance for my home, I asked about flooding right off the bat. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep at night with that possibility lurking!

Hello, downtown Peterborough!

At the time of the flood, I was also a co-chair of the Red Cross Youth Council in Peterborough. On the night of the 15th, I spent hours travelling back and forth to stores who had donated everything from money to cleaning supplies and more, and we created clean-up buckets for folks to pick up for free to help with the process. It's insane to walk into a Walmart and leave with every mop and bucket!

The aftermath of the flood was devastating. Homes and businesses were lost. Our local archives mostly destroyed, vehicles ruined. For weeks and weeks, streets were littered with what used to be peoples treasures and belongings. The smell of drying sewage lingered.

But, Peterborough is a town of resilience and community. And so we cleaned up. And moved on.

One good thing that came out of the flood, was the revitalization of Hunter Street -- now the Cafe District in our pretty little downtown. I think that had the flood not occurred, we wouldn't see such vibrant shops and life there now.

Hunter Street went from this:

To this:

An incredible transformation.

I think I might need an I Survived The 2004 Peterborough Flood t-shirt.

Have you ever experienced a flood?