A year ago on Tuesday, disaster struck the City of Thunder?Bay.
Rain fell from the heavens in epic proportions, all but destroying the city’s water pollution control plant.
The backlash from the once-in-a-century event is still being felt today.
Hundreds of homeowners lives were turned upside down on that fateful May 28 morning, when they awoke to find their basements coated in a thick layer of sewage.
The ensuing 12 months have taught us a lot about ourselves.
The community rallied like never before. Neighbours who barely knew each other came to one another’s rescues. People from one end of Thunder?Bay to the other lined up to donate to the flood relief cause, ultimately raising more than $1 million to help others rebuild their shattered lives.
Not everything has gone smoothly. A threatened $500-million class-action suit against the city looms. Many victims are outraged that their belongings were destroyed, and blame the municipality for not doing enough to prevent the disaster.
Through it all, the people, the backbone of our great community, held together and persevered, proving the mettle and character we’ve always known.
While we can’t turn back the clock and undo the damage done, we can look back with pride at how we handled the city’s darkest days. That’s what makes Thunder?Bay such a great place to live.
