THUNDER BAY – Flooding in Thunder Bay is impacting MEMO Cuba. Jerome Harvey reports that Sunday evening, “I stopped in at the Van Horne Warehouse to drop off some things. To my horror I discovered 4″of water in the basement soaking the boxes of medical supplies at the bottom of the stacked piles”.
“There were no burst pipes or overflowing toilets so it was a real mystery where the water had come from so quickly. Two days earlier everything had been fine”.
MEMO Cuba Needs Help!
Harvey shares, “After calling the city, two city employees arrived with the mother of all roto rooters. After 3 hours of “rooting” they came to the conclusion that the sewer pipe outside the building had collapsed”.
Because it is a building around 90 years old, the weeping tile that drains away rain water had been connected to the sewer line. When the sewer pipe collapsed the rain water had no place to go but into the basement.
As the problem is on the warehouse property MEMO will be responsible for repairing it.(Think backhoe and big bucks) This comes just at the time when our volunteers are being pushed to the limit trying to get ready to ship two containers to empty the 600 Simpson St. Warehouse from which we have been evicted.
“So we need all the help we can get to go through the sodden boxes and rescue things that water won’t affect like bed pans and crutches,” informs Harvey. “Thanks to Brian Thordarson who supplied a sump pump most of the water has been removed. The last bit will need to be sucked up by a wet vac. Brian also stayed all evening to help rescue medical equipment from the water. Thanks Brian”.
“So we desperately need all the help we can get tomorrow Monday July 15th, to try and clean things up and salvage what we can,” informs Harvey. “Come when you can, leave when you have too, 09:00AMEDT to whenever”.