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Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority— Photo–Lanark Village Flood 1998

1998 – Flooding occurred along the Clyde and Mississippi Rivers. An emergency was declared. Flooding caused considerable strife for a number of weeks.

If you have personal memories, PM me–leave a comment– or email me at sav_77@yahoo.com so I can add them here for a more in depth story.

See Memories of the Lanark Flood- by Wendell Crosbie tomorrow

Photo from the Almonte Gazette 1998

On the 8th of April 1998 the citizens of Lanark crowded on to the main street of that village to watch a home that was in danger of being swept away being covered by national news. In other parts of the Lanark Highlands, as well as the village of Lanark, the Clyde River had overflowed their banks and a state of emergency was called for the area.

The Ontario Provincial Police had also called in a helicopter to search for those who might be stranded by flooded roads. Pakenham had also been at the mercy of the Mississippi River and I remember the Riverbend trailer park near the town limits being underwater.

Photo from the Almonte Gazette 1998

Even those with double sump pumps found themselves in waist high water in their basement while Water Street completely flooded. Two hundred members of the military had descended on the village of Lanark while another 100 went up to Dalhousie Lake to fill and place sandbags around the local homes. Lanark set up a billeting system at private homes rather than open a shelter.

A Mississippi Mills firefighter was quoted as saying that the ice storm of 1998 was a terrible inconvenience to everyone, but this was a disaster. Firemen soon found out that they were better fighting fires than floods and Beckwith, Glen Isle Pakenham, Dalhousie Lake were all affected but none so seriously as the village of Lanark.

Photo from the Almonte Gazette 1998

Because most people were not covered by flood insurance –some wondered if they would be eligible for some government coverage similar to the ice storm of January 1998. After it was all over some played the blame game while others reviewed where they might have gone wrong and seriously looked at those who had built on flood plains.

Photo from the Almonte Gazette 1998

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Photo from the Almonte Gazette 1998

historicalnotes

There are other photos of the flood on Google Image- but I refuse to pay $19.95 each to put them up on here but– do check out the 4 different photos by clicking here. There is even one of Jason Labelle age 14 at the time riding his bike and The Ark which as you know was flooded.

Canadian Disaster Database

Event Category	Disaster
Event Group	Natural
Event Subgroup	Meteorological – Hydrological
Event Type	Flood
Place	Eastern Ontario and Quebec
Event Start Date	March 28, 1998
Event End Date	April 15, 1998
Comments	Eastern Ontario and Quebec, March 28 – April 15, 1998. Warm weather and thunderstorms caused spring flooding. In Ontario, the Clyde River, Ottawa River, Mississippi River and rivers feeding Lake Nipissing overflowed. The lower Trent System below Peterborough from Rice Lake to Bay of Quinte also experienced flooding. States of Emergency were declared in these communities: Lanark Highlands, Village of Kearney, Township of Drummond, North Elmsley, Beckwith Township, Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills. In Quebec, over 15 rivers flooded and caused the evacuation of 3,697 people in 140 municipalities. Rivers on the North Shore of St. Lawrence River, St. Lawrence River, Assumption River, Chateauguay River, Richelieu River, Ottawa River, Lake St. Pierre and Lake Champlain flooded. Damage mainly occurred in the MontÃrÃgie and Mauricie regions.
Fatalities	0
Injured / Infected	0
Evacuated	3757
Estimated Total Cost	$27,741,685
Federal DFAA Payments	$7,246,824
Provincial DFAA Payments	$14,570,459
Provincial Department Payments	$5,924,402
Municipal Costs	Unknown
OGD Costs	Unknown
Insurance Payments	Unknown
NGO Payments	Unknown
Utility – People Affected	0
Magnitude	0.0