Washed away

Diane Hicks was settling down to breakfast with the 10 special needs patients she cares for at her home Monday morning when she got an unexpected phone call.

Her daughter-in-law called around 8:30 a.m. to say that she couldn’t get to Hicks’ Oliver Road home because the driveway had disappeared.

“I was really shocked at what had happened, the culvert had gone down stream,” Hicks said.  “It’s just crazy and the road split.”

Water had cut Hick’s driveway in two, with about a six foot cliff on either side. City road crews were on scene to fix the damage just after 1 p.m.

Hicks’ driveway was one of many infrastructure casualties from Monday morning’s storm that hammered the city and surrounding area with as much as 108 millimetres of rain. Another home on Oliver Road had so much water rushing over the lawn that a couple sat on their front step stranded.

“We’re fine,” the couple yelled over the roar of water. “We’re just stuck.”

Oliver Road itself had been partly washed away near Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Highway 11-17 west of Vibert Road was not so fine. Rushing water has washed away a whole section of the road.

The OPP had closed the highway between Vibert and Mapleward as a precaution. They also closed another section of the highway between Highway 590 and Holland Road. Twin City Crossroads had also been closed. An OPP officer on scene said he thought a washout there was just a matter of time.

“It’s unbelievable the amount of rain we’ve had,” OPP provincial Const. Diana Cole said. “Mother nature has caused a lot of destruction.”

The OPP are urging people to drive with extreme caution while driving.