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Exeter 235-2008
Second Section - ul 201 1994
Remembering the flood of 1969
By Erin Lobb
T -A stat
EXETER - Unbelievable!
That was the word most people
used to describe the flash flood of
Thursday, July 24, 1969 and the
mass destruction that accompanied
it.
"It was like nothing I had ever
seen before. I remember seeing
cars roll over on Anne Street. The
fridge in the pharmacy floated
down to the laundry room, 150 feet
away," said Alex Meikle, South
Huron Hospital employee.
According to information gath-
ered by the Ausable-Bayfield Con-
servation Authority the rain started
shortly after 3 p.m.. Nine and
three-quarter inches of rain fell in
three hours, wiping out thousands
of dollars in cash crops, flooding
hundreds of basements and wreak-
ing severe damage on South Huron
Hospital.
"When debris was washed in
from the fields it covered over the
drains located at the south end of
Main Street and flooding occurred.
It then proceeded to head westerly
to the railroad tracks, flooding that
side of town," said Glenn Kells,
Exeter Town Works Super-
intendent.
A natural dam was formed when
the water reached the culvert beside
the railroad tracks. A tractor and
backhoe were employed to unclog
the drain. By 10:30 p.m. the water
began to subside.
Flooding at South Huron Hos-
pital was almost fatal for Marjorie
Benweis. While standing on a
counter attempting to remove sur-
gical dressings from the basement's
pharmacy, water rose to her chin al-
most drowning her.
A pharmaceutical cupboard had
fallen in front of the door com-
plicating rescue efforts. Pumps be-
gan operating in the hospital base-
ment but couldn't stop the water
from reaching heights of five and
seven feet.
"We are out of everything, food,
dressings, drugs, linen - it's all
gone, gone out the back door," said
Alice Claypole, Hospital ad-
ministrator at the time of the dis-
aster.
At least $ 100,000 in damages
was estimated by Claypole.
yo
duri
the
1969
flood?"
Unfortunately the damage was
not covered by the hospitals in-
surance. Charles Smith, a member
of the hospital board's property
committee, said that damaged
caused by surface water was not
covered in the hospital's policy.
"If the hail had been big enough
to put a hole in the roof and water
came in, we would have been cov-
ered," said Smith.
"We are out of
everything- food,
drugs, linen, - it's
all gone."
- Alice Claypole
A five mile by 10 mile swath was
cut through Stephen, Usborne, and
Tuckersmith Townships. Fred
Wright, Canadian Canners field su-
pervisor at the time, said canning
peas and corn were seriously af-
fected as were white beans and
grain crops. Losses amounted to
thousand of dollars.
Could this happen again? "It's
not nearly as likely," says Kells.
The Town of Exeter added another
54 inch drainage pipe, which runs
along side the existing 48 inch
drain, two years after the flood.
Kells explained that a similar
flood incident occurred almost a
year later, within a week. More
storm sewers and catch basins have
been added so water could move
more easily into the drains.
"Floods are going to happen so
we put a system in place that will
forecast and warn before another
flood occurs," said Alex Scott Aus-
able Bayfield Water Resources
manager. The flood warning sys-
tem was put in place in 1983.
Located in a tin shelter beside the
Ausable Bayfield River, the system
gauges the water level of the river,
records and stores the information
in a computer which can be as-
sessed hourly for analysis.
Throughout the watershed there are
seven stations.
The Ministry of Natural Re-
sources also provides information
about weather systems in the area.
This .information can also be used
to predict heavy rainfall.
The likelihood of another flood
incident like the one in 1969 is
highly unlikely. As Scott explains,
"It would be like lightning striking
the same place twice."
A
"I remember watching
bales of hay floating
across the road in Us-
bome Township, while I
was trying to get home
from work."
Ruthanne Negrijn
.1.44 111111111111.141111
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,'►.1%
i -• • ,
1
"I recall being about nine
years old at the lime of
the flood. 1 was able to
pick up the hailstones
from peoples' lawns and
make snowballs with
t."
Terry Schwartzentruber
1
1 remember the water
was so high 1 was watch-
ing cars on Anne Street
roll over and oll barrels
float down the street from
Snell's garage."
Alex Meikle
•
11 was In Clinton at t
time. There wasn't a sin-
gle drop of rain. The
strange thing Is that a
year later, within a week
we had almost exactly the
same problem. Shorty af-
ter that we repaired the
drain.
Glenn Kells
Canadian Tire Store, mil..
owner Ross Bygrave
assists his staff in the
cleanup campaign at his
store following the flood.
i Canadian Tire received
serious damage as it was
located in the central
flood area. At left, knee-
high in water, people left
their homes to observe
the water level rising.
Above, South Huron
Hospital had to be
evacuated after a boiler
burst. Patients were trans-
ferred to Clinton, Sea -
forth, and nearby homes.
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