Ile Bizard residents facing reality of insurance and cleanup a week after tropical storm Debby

Anick Vandevenne has spent the last week picking up the pieces after the remnants of tropical storm Debby flooded her street and basement.

A nearby marsh overflowed, submerging her lower level in more than 2,000 millimetres of water.

"It was like a tornado went through," Vandevenne said. "When we walked downstairs, the water tank had fallen. Even when we walked into the laundry room, my washing machine had flipped upside down."

Vandevenne's friends and family have been working 12 hour days to strip the basement down to the cement.

Adding to the stress, she says her insurance won't cover the around $70,000 in damages because the flooding was caused by overland water rather than the sewer system. 

"The power of water was very, very impressive to see the destruction it can do," Vandevenne said.

She submitted a claim to Quebec's Ministry of Public Security, which is helping compensate households affected by the storm, but she expects to pay out of pocket for part of the costs.

Today, the street directly in front of her home is dry, but last Sunday, there was at least 900 millimetres of water covering the pavement.

Borough mayor Doug Hurley admitted the municipality is now facing a four to six figure fine from the province for dumping water into the Rivière des Prairies before Environment Quebec approved the move.

"I'm prepared to go to court and argue the particular point," Hurley said. "It's important that when situations occur that we have our priorities in place, the first one is human lives and safety. We'll worry about the details later."

He added that there were lessons learned this time, and he's working to put new protocols in place as similar situations become more likely due to climate change.

"One is our emergency response; trying to get a hold of a lot of people over the weekend can be tough," Hurley said.

As for Vandevenne, she says it'll be at least two to three years before she has a functional basement again, but she's grateful her family is safe.