Spring flooding in Ottawa-Gatineau, by the numbers
Statistics Canada used satellite data from the Canadian Space Agency to gauge flooding impact
Statistics Canada is drawing a clearer picture of the extent of spring flooding in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
Using satellite data from the Canadian Space Agency and information from Natural Resources Canada, the federal agency has put numbers to what many families have been experiencing first-hand.
The information was gathered between April 20 and 30.
In Ottawa, 2,196 dwellings were flooded or at risk of flooding in those 11 days, Statistics Canada said. During the same period in Gatineau, 3,800 homes and cottages were affected.
The western Quebec community of Pontiac, where more than 20 per cent of dwellings were affected by the spring flooding, was among the hardest hit.
Data aids relief efforts
Statistics Canada also calculated the impact the spring flooding has had on local roads.
More than 100 kilometres were flooded or put at risk, including 39 kilometres in Ottawa and 62 kilometres in Gatineau.
In addition to homes and cottages, the agency also calculated the breadth of the flooded land surface.
In Ottawa, 42 square kilometres were flooded, and in Gatineau 39 square kilometres were flooded.
Statistics Canada said the purpose of crunching the data is to determine how severe the flooding problem is and help identify where relief efforts need to be focused.
The agency says the data will also help decide where money should go for relief efforts and infrastructure repair.