Linda Franklin-Allard, her husband, son, and son-in-law have been working diligently since yesterday piling sandbags around their cottage located on the North Shore of Lake Nipissing along Jocko Point.
“We are just looking at protecting the cottage,” said Allard wearing fishing waders as she looked at all their waterfront property that has been engulfed by water.
“The rest of the property is garages and that type of thing. Last night the wind started picking up and that is just pushing everything inside. I don’t think the rain is going to help today but if the wind would calm down then things would get better. We are just going to put another two or three layers on top of the sandbags and see what happens.”
A few homes down, Tim Fournier is watching over his friend's property today. Fournier helped build flower beds about two feet above the shoreline but those are completely submerged now as the water on that property runs right up to the backyard deck.
“With the crash of the waves and everything they are about three or four metres high so it is getting pretty good,” said Fournier, who had chipped in earlier packing sandbags.
Jocko Point, located between North Bay and Sturgeon Falls, is leased land located on Nipissing First Nation.
Sandbags are being distributed from the Jocko Point Fire Hall and there are two sand piles – one near the pow wow grounds and one near the Fire Hall.
See related: Residents on Jocko Point report flooding this morning
Each household in low lying areas will receive a maximum of 300 bags per lot.
Miller Paving arrived around 11:30 to drop off four loads of sand free of charge.
“They are in distress and some people are losing their homes,” said Mitch Legace, Foreman with Miller Paving.
“It is getting pretty bad and the worst is yet to come.”
A state of emergency has not been called as of this afternoon, however, in nearby West Nipissing, a state of emergency was called today.
See related: West Nipissing calls a State of Emergency
The situation has overwhelmed many of the residents. Allard says this is definitely the worst flooding they have seen in 20 years.
"There was a bad flood back in the 1970s and then in the early 2000s too, but not as big as this one," she said.
"This one we are right over our walls, this is pretty big."
