TRAGEDY ON ASH STREET The hardest hit area of Whitby dur- ing the August 28 storm was Ash Street, anaturally low lying area adjacent to a smal1 and marshy creek. In normal weather the stream contains ittle water, and is often hearly dry, but cduring heavy rains, is prone to flood- ing. On other occasions, the water has r i sen dangerously high, but on August 28 at the peak of the storm, the entire s t r e et was inundated w i t h water and geysers of water shot as much as three feet high out of manhol es on Ash Street. Water, sewage as high as 6 feet W a ter and sewage rose to alarming heights of five and six feet in some homes on Ash and adjacent streets ruining most of the contents of many basements. In a hou se on Chesnut Street the water and sewage rose 51½ inches up to level of the basement windows and over the first landing of the stairs. It would h a v e p r obably risen even higher if it hadnot started pouring out a back door the owner stated. The owner of this home was at his cottage when the storm struck and was cal ed back by neighbours. When he returnedhe found al1 the baseboard el- ectric heaters had to be repaired, and the f r e e zer, washer and dryer had to be serviced. Sever al p ieces of wood furniture w e r e ruined, and many floor tiles had to be r ep laced. Two hundred dollars worth of f o o d in the freezer was des- troyed, and a bill for cleaning winter clothing came to more than $96. In a n e a r b y home, three basement apartments were flooded wi th more than three feet of water, forcing the tenants to seek oth'er accommodation. The owner reported al I the hardwood floor s had tobe taken up and the wooden w alI1I1s h a v e begun to warp. Dampness c o ntinues to come through the walls of one of the apartments and the paint and plaster are beginning to flake off. Losses for one total $30,00 Repairing a furnace cost the owner $ 3 0 , pl1 us the costs of a new washing machine motor. Total losses were es- timated at $30, 000 for the three apart- ments and the tenants in two of the ap- a r tments lost ail Itheir furniture. IIYo u work so hard for what you've go t, and then thi s ! Il commen ted the own- er to amember of the relief fund's cam- p a i gn c om m ittee. "I neyer had water WHITBY FREE PRESS, Thursday, December 9th, 1971, Page 15 Ash Street area hardest hit T Looking south on Ash towards Mary Street, one of the hardest hit areas ln the town. Youngsters ride single file on their bikes on water covered road. b e f o r e and I have had the apartments for six years. I Aman in the house next door who took two truckloads of his belongings to the dump after the storm, estimated his 1oss at about $2, 000. Furnace and dryer motors had to be repl aced, and two beds, a rug and many other clothes had to be thrown out. Af- ter threemonths there is still dampness in his basement. Water clmbs basement stairs In a home on Ash Street south of Chesnut Street, the water rose over the top of the dryer and up f ive of the base- ment steps to a height of 54 inches. The weight of wet sheets broke the b o t tom of every drawer in a dresser, and a large furnace oil tank floated, twisting a ilI its connecting pipes out of posi tion. When the owner discovered the water shooting up through the floor drain, he tri ed to pI ug it with a cloth, but the water then began to come up through the laundry tubs. Lookingout his window at the height of the s t o r m, he saw a manhole cover pu shed a foot into the air by the water pressure in the flooded sewer. His neighbour who had lived on Ash S t r e et for seven years and never ex- perienced any flooding had four feet of water in his basement. Two miniature water geysers rise through lid of sewer lid on Ash Street. According to reliable sources, these twin jets of water soared much higher at storm peak. He estimated hi s Ios! at about $1, 000, and spent two days and two nights scrub- bing hi s basement to get rid of the stench of the sewage. Pool table floated on raft Although he lost a chair and a ches- terfield, he succeeded in saving a pool table by floating it on a raft. Farther south on Ash Street near Mary Street water rose up to the base- m e n t w indows in one home causing an estimated $350 in damages. Replacementof a furnace motor cost the owner nearly $50 and he had to pur- chase a new washing machine. Some items can never be replaced Many residents lost personal belong- ingswhichcouldnever be replaced,· in- clu d in g a collection of school books, whi ch had been accumul ated over a per- iod of nearly 40 years. AI 1 a I o ng Ash Street and adjacent Streets it was the same story, as piles ofruinedbelongings waited for the gar- bage man at the side of the road the day after the storm. After t h e Santa Claus Parade on Sat- u r d a y , come in and warm up wi th hot coffeeat the Whitby Storm Damage Re- I ief Fund' s commit tee headquarters, the old Toronto Dominion Bank, corner of Brock and Dundas Streets. STORM LOSSES E L.osses in the storm of August 28 could be as high as $600, 000, accord- i n g to an e s t i mate prepared by Town Clerk William Waîlace. Report to province lnmakinga report to the province of Ontario, Mr. Wallace estimated a loss of $1,000 per home on 100 homes, $ 2, 000 per home on ano ther 100 homes, and $3, 000 per home on an additional homes. Accordingto claims submitted to the town by more than 80 residents, indiv- i du al losses range from $50, to $30, 000 for three basement apartments. An estimated 300 homes were fl1ooded in some way dur i ng the storm. Town records indicate 220 homes were f lood- XCEED HALF A M ed, and it is estimated 60 to 80 were af- fected for which the town has no record. Of those who have submitted damage e s t imates as of the end of October, 12 have recorded more than $l, 000 in dam- ages. Damages very real indeed Acasual look at any of the homes af- fected b y the storm might cause one to think that no real damage was sus tained, but to the residents of these homes the damage is very rëal and costly. In anMajor i ty of homes, the motors of f u r naces, washing machines, dryers, f r e ezers, and other appliances had to be replaced, at an average cost of $50 each. ILLION DOLLARS! Water-seeped insulation Inothercases, the appliances them- selves had to be replaced. Some home- ownersfound water had seeped into in- sulation in their freezers and there was little hope of drying it out. Many families lost clothing, ches- terfields, chairs and wooden furniture w h i c h was damaged beyond repair. In m o s t c a s e s , items which could have been salvaged if there was only water in the basements, were seeped in sew- age, and had to-be thrown out. F I o or t i I es came unglued and wal1 panels warped and buckled. In one home, continued on page. 15