Water levels high but stable amid major flood fears in Belleville

Volunteers add sandbags around Brenda Barker's house in Foxboro, Ont., on Saturday April 12, 2014. (Lars Hagberg / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Water flows in the Moira River east of Toronto reached the same levels as major flooding in 2008 but stabilized on Sunday as residents in Belleville frantically threw down sandbags and hoped that heavy rains wouldn't materialize.

Jennifer May-Anderson with Quinte Conservation says rain Saturday night wasn't enough to trigger large-scale flooding as winter snow melts away.

"The big question mark had been what rain we would get overnight last night. And the rain that we received last night was not a significant amount of rain so it didn't change things very much," May-Anderson said.

Many homes have seen water pour in as the river has risen by more than 12 centimetres in recent days, and residents are bracing for even worse flooding.

May-Anderson said that while the Moira has surged higher from Stoco Lake through to Foxboro and Belleville, at this point it hasn't crested and caused major widespread floods like it did six years ago.

She said the water level, though high, should stay stable over the next few days if the amount of rain upstream remains light.

"It looks like things are slowing down and levelling off, but we obviously are not taking our eyes off the situation."

Belleville and other Quinte Region areas are under flood warnings, while Belleville has been under a state of emergency since Thursday as squads of volunteers help pack sandbag walls around homes in low-lying areas at the greatest risk.

The city says more than 70 homes have been surrounded with some 500 tonnes of sand packed and laid down by some 480 volunteers.

By Sunday afternoon the city said the small army of volunteers could begin to stand down as the sandbag job appeared to be done.

Belleville spokesman Aaron Bell says no homes have been rendered uninhabitable, though there has been one home evacuated due to concerns for the condition of a resident inside. Bell says no more evacuations are expected.

Environment Canada said parts of Ontario could get up to 75 millimetres of rain by early Tuesday, while upwards of 45 millimetres of rain was expected in southern and central Quebec, where flooding forced the evacuation of dozens of homes and businesses.

May-Anderson said the closest spot the forecasted heavy rains will hit is nearby Bancroft, but said a downpour there won't cause rivers to swell in the Quinte area.