Evacuees from the Rigaud area were aghast when attempting to return to their homes Tuesday, only to be confronted by increased military surveillance and barricades in their neighborhoods.
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are on the ground to ensure that people cannot return to their flooded houses to retrieve belongings or assess the extent of the damage.
In fact, Coast Guard vessels are circulating on the Ottawa River to prevent people from taking their boats through a back route to circumnavigate the guarded areas.
Army officials say that approximately 150 homes still need to be checked, and that there are about a hundred holdouts still within them, despite orders by emergency workers to evacuate.
Many residents left on their own, yet others were not happy with a mandatory evacuation order, thinking they could have saved something or prevented impending damages.
These residents told CTV News that they feel their conditions are still “liveable”— some people have minimal flooding in their basements that they’ve been manually pumping out – and that the army’s intervention is just too little, too late.
"It's getting more and more quiet. Fewer gas pumps going. People have given up," said Andrew Bombeldijk.
His property is covered by more than one metre of water, but he said that is no reason for him to leave.
"There's always one last thing to be protected, always something I can pick up and save," Bombeldijk said.
They say that this battle of the elements has been ongoing since mid-March, and that it’s nothing they cannot ride out.
Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr. disagreed, and he wants everyone removed from the area by Wednesday.
"No exceptions," said the mayor. "You have a mandate, do your job."
He knows people do not like the order, but he said dealing with angry residents is far better than the alternative.
"If every citizen that was evacuated gives me half an hour of grief instead of me going to the funeral parlour, then I'll deal with the grief," said Gruenwald.
One of those residents forced out is Angelo Arcaro.
He lives on the edge of the flood zone, and for six weeks has fought to keep the water away.
"They're saying get out of your house it's not safe. No man, the danger has passed. If I leave, who's going to pump my house? if you shut my power, you're going to destroy more houses," said Arcaro.
The army is going to build dikes around the few homes not yet touched by water, but Arcaro does not believe it will be enough.
The only way to know that the Ottawa River does not normally flow this high is the street signs poking out of the water.
Although Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said in a press conference Tuesday morning that the water levels seem to be holding steady and even receding in some cases, experts estimate that it could take up to six weeks for the water to completely dry out.
It will take just as long for people to return to their homes and begin to rebuild in the wake of the historic flooding.
It is also too early to be able to assess the total cost of damages.
Yesterday, those who returned began cleaning up their houses, hauling away ruined items and stripping waterlogged insulation and drywall.
While residents were able to use their boats to get around low-lying sections of Rigaud, there is also a bridge made from scaffolding to access some areas by foot.
For the moment, no boat traffic will make its way through the flood zone.
