A big cleanup job in Canandaigua after weekend flooding

Eriketa Cost News10NBC

[anvplayer video=”5184795″ station=”998131″]

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — The cleanup job is going to be a big one for some in Ontario County. Between flooded basements and backyards, neighbors tell us they’ve been putting in hours of work in the hot sun.

Many people were out cleaning up on Tuesday.

Streets like West Gibson and Chapin streets in Canandaigua were affected the most, as they lie near a creek that goes through the city.

As of Tuesday evening, RG&E said about 60 homes were without power, since they were deemed unsafe to restore from the water damage.

Greg Kaiser and his parents were among those working for hours under the hot sun.

“We have a creek and it overflowed, started in the backyard, destroyed everything,” he said. “And then it came right down the street into the basement, filled up like four feet, the power went out, it went out for like 24 hours and came back on yesterday.”

He said their sump pump was destroyed, along with many items in the basement.

“Four feet of water is going to soak everything,” he said. “We just throw it out. There’s no point in just trying to waste the time of trying to save a few things.”

George Inslee, who lives on West Gibson Street, said in over 40 years of living here, he’s never seen a rain like this.

“We got over five inches of rain in an hour,” he said.

Luckily, his Harley Davidson was salvaged.

“I pulled it out of the garage yesterday, let it sit for two hours and said, ‘Well, I’m going to go see if it will start, and it fired right up,’” said Inslee.

Now he’s just worried about another storm.

But he’s glad members of the community are showing up, to support one another.

“The Salvation Army has been a big help,” he said. “They brought dinner last night, lunch today, dinner again tonight.”

Residents should expect periodic lane and/or road closures as crews continue to repair this damage as well as clean out ditches, catch basins and culverts.

Motorists are asked to slow down, and give road crews plenty of space to complete their work safely. Residents are urged to avoid the impacted sections of the City of Canandaigua as there will be various crews in the area in the coming days as cleanup and recovery operations continue.

Residents are urged to monitor the City’s website and social media pages for updated information on the removal of debris and waste.

Anyone impacted by the flooding and in need of assistance should call the Ontario County Dispatch non-emergency number at 585-394-4560. Anyone experiencing an emergency should call 911. Anyone who needs mental health services should call 988.