Page 14, Thursday, December 9th, 1971, WHITBY FREE PRESS Wellington Street And Bell Drive Extensive Damage Wellington Street and Bell Drive suf- fe r e d as badly as parts of Ash Street during the August 28 storm. About 10:30 a. m. a Bell Drive resi- dent discovered six inches of water in his basement. Two hours later there was two feet. Emergency crews dispatched to his house instal led a pump which succeeded in k e e p i n gthe water at a lower level than most houses in both his and his neighbour's homes. Hydrostatic pressure cracks wall But in spite of the aid of pumps, hydrostatic pressure building up under the house opened cracks in the basement fl1 oor and an 18-inch crack split the k i t c h en w all upstairs to a width of a quarter of an inch. When "the tide went out, "the crack closed up again. At the beginning of the storm water shot up two feet out of the floor drains and poured through the cracks opened in the cement like an elongated fountain. The smell1 of sewage, as inmany homes, lasted up to six weeks after the water was gone. Across the street water rose three f e ett i n a home, damaging the furnace and a washer. The owner, who was not home at the t i me and unable to save anything, lost more th an 100 books valued at nearly $360, and boxes of draperies and blan- ketÃ. As in many cases, neighbours went toherhouse and attempted to rescue as much as they coul d. The owner reported to a member of the relief fund's campagin commi ttee that she hadî1ived on Bel Drive for 10 years and had w a t e r in her basement only once, during the storm last June, which pre- ceded the August 28 storm. Family of 8 still without appliances A f am ilI y w i th eight children next door is still without an autornatic dryer th r ee months after the storm, and ex- pects repairs will cost about $180. A transformer and two motors in their furnace had to be replaced at a cost of $55, and total losses are estimated at $1, 363, which include a book case and encyclopedia set, two sofas, a record pl1 a y e r , electric fire pl ace, food and linoleum floor cover ing. Sonme items irreplaceable IrPreplacable wedding an d f am iîIy photos were also lost in the flooding. "There is no u se in compl et ing our rec r oo m if we get more storms, " the owner commented. He repor ted he had three feet of water in his basement, and succeeded in saving the food in his freezer by propping it Up with a two by four piece of wood. "lt was for tunate nobody got ele ctro- cuted because we could not get near the Hydro switch in the basement, " he said. A h ome owner on Wellington Street reportedhe had two feet of water in his basement, and estimated a total loss of $400. "In a few months my furniture is going torot, "he said, pointing at upholstered ch airs. He also said he would have to r e place the sub floor in his basement, which was already beginning to buckle. The w a ter started coming into his home at 10 a. m. and he was still pump- in9 it out at 2 a. m. the next morning. Mrs. Aima Hodowaniak stands almost Knee aeep in backed up sewer water in the basement of her home on Bell Drive. Complete basement is paneled. According to both Mrs. Hodowaniak and Mr. & Mrs. McAdam, this is the second time In a two month period that they have suffered this damage. The first flooding was during the storm of June 26th. "I have seen people cry up here, " he said. Wall panelling buckled H i s neighbour t o the north sai d he hadtopaynearly $100 to replace a fur- nace motor and his washing machine was d a m a g e d. The plywood floor rose up under the pressure of the water and pan- elling on the wall buckled. E l e ctr ic tools he had been using to b u i I d a new recreation room were aIl rusted, and he had to throw out a ches- terfield and two chairs. Work halts on rec room "Iwasjust starting on a new rec room, Il he saai'd. "Itismore or less stopped now. " Total loss was estimated at $1, 000. "If they pay for the bil11s on the applian- ce s , I won 1t complain about anything e I s e, " he told a member of the relief fund's campaign committee. Farther up the street another home- ow n e r e s t i mated his loss at $1, 500, consisting of $200 to replace motors in afurnace, dryer, andwashing machine, $ 25 0 t o purchase a new freezer, and $120 for its contents. T h e f r e e zer floated upsi de down, spi Illing o100pounds of beef into the water and sewage. DAMAGE EXTENSIVE SEWERS BACK UP Many basements are almost devoid of furniture, as much was soaked in sew- age and had to be removed to the dump. Clothing, appliances, food, personal e f f e c t s, books and hundreds of other itemswereruined in the storm, and for many people, replacing these items will not be an easy manner. T h e d i r e c tor of public works has cl assed the rain of August 28 as an Iab- normal storm. Il For many Whitby citi- zens it was a storm that will not be easily forgotten. Other losses included 10 pieces of luggage, a cedar chest fuil1.of blankets cl othes and.boots, five plastic bags of books, a chesterfield and a chest of drawers, whichfilledan entire gargage truck. The cement floor cracked and Iifted in several places, requiring further rep- air s. Returns home to havoc Theowner was out of town at the time of the storm, and returned home to findhis washing machine full of sewage and broken Chr i stm as ball1s stuck to the basement walls, with moldy slime over everything. It took him a month and a half to re- move the smell with a dehumidifier. A R agi an Street resident reported he had lost two sofas, worth $200; two ch airs worth $75 each, a chair worth $ 8 5, a rug wor th $125, $ 250 wor th of food in a freezer, and personal belong- ings worth $100. Cleanup aFid labour cost an additinal $96 and a new dryer motor cost $65. A washer had to be replaced, a power saw repairedand a portable typewriter was ru ined. Total loss was estimated at $1, 500. L i k e many other Whitby residents, the owner and his w i f e were not home d u r i ng the storm and w e r e unable to rescue anything at the time. "Th e r e is no hope of replacing my losses without compensation, " he told a m e m b e r of the rel ief fund's campaign comm i ttee. continued from page 13 220 homes receive flooding T o w n r e c o r d s indicated that 220 homes had flooding of some sort during th e storm and i t is estimated 60 to 80 other homes were affected of which there is no record. During the course of the storm both t h e work s department and fir e depar t- ment called out every available person and mobilized every available piece of equipment. P u m p s were borrowed from as far a w a y pl1 a c es as Reach Township and Toron to. For ty-five men, including volunteers, were cal led out by the fire d epartment. Because the storm struck on a S a tur day , there were fewer men available than on a weekday. The fire department reported it had pumped out 118 basements and 55 base- ments were mopped up by the work s de- par tmen t. AI though the storm is Ilong over and the basements are now dry, the damage remains--in the form of cracked floor s, So o se tiles, buckled panels and appli- ances stili not repaired. Mr. Ralph McAdam stands waist deep ln water ln the basement of his home on Bell Drive in Whitby. The backed up sewer water reached a height of four feet during disasterous storm. Note paneling behind Mr. McAdam's. Mr