Tracy Inness was not home when a heavy rain storm began around 5pm in Burlington, Ontario on Monday, August 4. Within a couple of hours, two months of rain fell and hundreds of basements were flooded—including Tracy’s and several others on her street. Over 1,578 residents were affected by the flooding.

“That night everyone was calling me and trying to get a hold of me,” said Inness. By time she was able make it home at around 9pm, her basement was filled with over two feet of water—including sewage.

Some of her neighbors had even higher levels of rain, with water as high as the doorknobs on the first floor. Her street—which is on a low plain—had buckled under the weight of the rain, so there was nothing she could do to help the water recede. At around 2am, it finally went down.

This was the second flood that Inness and her neighbors have dealt with this year. Her house and several others were also affected by flooding caused by a rain storm in May. While Inness had not yet repaired her basement, several of her neighbors had just refinished their basements only for them to be damaged again in this even bigger flood. In Inness’ home, the new flood waters took out her furnace, washer and dryer.

“I just didn’t know what to do next or where to go,” said Inness. That’s when she talked to her neighbor, Heather DeHaan, who had served with World Renew in several capacities over the years including leading a youth service and learning trip to Nicaragua. DeHaan told Inness that World Renew Disaster Response Services volunteers were partnering with Samaritan’s Purse to help Burlington residents in need—with a particular focus on those with physical limitations or lack of insurance coverage. Since last week, volunteers have gathered at Burlington Christian Reformed church and been sent out to various home sites where immediate cleanup and sanitation work was needed.

“Their work has been a big help. It’s been awesome—I can’t thank them enough.”

When Inness called the flood response coordinators, volunteers were on site at her house within two hours and ready to work.

“Their work has been a big help. It’s been awesome—I can’t thank them enough.”

Clarence Nywening was one of the volunteers hard at work on Inness’s house. This was his second time serving as a World Renew disaster response volunteer. He had also taken part in the response to the hurricane and tropical storm that hit Schoharie, New York in August 2011.

When flooding occurred in Burlington, Nwyening felt it was a rare opportunity for him to serve people in need not only in his own country, but in his nearby community.

“This site I can drive to, I can cover my own expenses,” said Nywening. “My sons for example have gone on trips to Nicaragua, Honduras, and other places in the world – but this is a chance closer to home.”

Clarence smiled as he showed some of the tools he was using.

“A neighbor of mine used to be a stone mason, and shortly before he died he gave me a number of tools used to build Christ the Church Cathedral in Hamilton,” he explained.

Employees from World Renew and the Christian Reformed Church in North America also joined in the flood response. They were given permission to spend half of their work day on August 21 as volunteers. Several people took advantage of this opportunity and spent the morning cutting and removing damaged dry wall from damaged basements, carrying damaged items to the curb for pick-up, and disinfecting homes.

“The church is more than just a place to worship on Sunday,” said CRCNA Canadian Ministries Director, Darren Roorda. “It is essential that we also reach out in love and solidarity when our neighbors are in need. This flooding happened right in our backyard, so we welcome the opportunity to be part of the response to it.”