Volunteers lend flood victims a helping hand in Pierrefonds-Roxboro

Military officials, politicians and residents made up some of the 200 people who gathered in the Pierrefonds-Roxboroborough on Saturdayto help clean up the damage left behind bymajor flooding that affected communities across Quebec earlier this month.

Volunteers met atPierrefondsComprehensive High School where they were given tasks and dispatched to four sectors in the borough.

• Montreal flood victim spends days cleaning house at risk of collapse after inspection mix-up

Five STM buses were deployed to shuttle volunteers, who then began picking up sandbags, clearing outgaragesand removing debris.

For residents now dealing with the aftermath of the floods, the extra help went a long way.

"Me and my husband, we are over 65and sometimes it is very hard for our back," said Marguerite Tooma, who lives on Lalande Boulevard.

"So I cleanedjusta little bit, but Iamhappy thatthey came and they took all the sand out."

It was a relief for Michel Cournoyer, who suffers from a brain tumour and a heart condition, when volunteers showed up at his home near the Cap Saint-Jacques park.

• Laval neighbours moved to tears after volunteers step forward to fight flooding

"I was discouraged. Whenever I'd come back home, I'd look at it and think, 'How am I going to do that?'"

He added that now he can continue to clean up athis own pace since volunteers were able to empty out his flood-damaged garage.

"I didn't expect they would do so much,"he said. "It's unbelievable. They really did a great job."

Too little, too late for others

Some residents, however, felt they could've used the help much sooner.

"They're three weeks too late," said Roxboro residentKevin Daveluy.

• Pierrefonds resident's return to hisdank, wet home is bittersweet

By the time volunteers arrived, he said, there was no more work to be done.

The boroughsaid it believesthis weekend was the right time to clean up aswaterlogged properties had time to dry up.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderresaid he was proud of the work that blue collar workers, volunteers and others had done since the flooding.

Headdressed the crowd at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School ahead of the big cleanup Saturday to thank them.

"I'm sending a strong message that you are not alone," he said, before striking a more sober note. "It's not over yet."

• 'We are trying to survive': Floods wash away Montreal business owners' life's work

Flooding caused major damage to many homes across Quebec in April and May.

Rising floodwaters affected 261 municipalities and damaged more 4,000 homes, according to Urgence Qubec.

Pierrefonds-Roxborowas one the most heavily-hit regions in Montreal as high water levelsinfiltrated backyards, basements and kitchens.