Volunteers pitch in to save Constance Bay restaurant from rising waters

Sandy Zhang and her husband Honggao Ji are inexplicably upbeat, considering both their restaurant and home in Constance Bay have fallen victim to the rising Ottawa River.

"It's sad, but it could [be] a lot worse," saidZhang, as she cheerfully offered canned pop and bags of potato chips to the volunteers who piledsandbags around the Lighthouse Grocery and Restaurant Sunday afternoon.

The 50-seat restaurant and grocery store,which they've owned for the past four years, is located on Bayview Drive one of the hardest-hit streets in the ruralneighbourhood about 40 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa.

• Constance Bay residents band together to fight 'heartbreaking' flooding

Zhang and Liclosed the restauranton Friday, and by lateSaturdaynight the water had risento the top of the basement crawlspace, amere eight inches beneath the ground floor.

"I didn't know what to do," said Zhang.

A friend suggested they post a plea on Facebook asking if anyone had a pump to loan the couple. Within an hour, two people showed up each with a pump and willing to help out.

"One came from Kanata and one from Fitzroy Harbour," said Zhang. "They were complete strangers, but they came to help us. It's so kind."

Home also in danger

The couple are not only facingcostly damages to their business, but also to their home onthe 700 blockof BayviewDrive.

"The first floor is covered in a foot of water," said Ji, using his fingers to mark on his leg how deep the water was.

The electricity and gas have been shut off to their home, he added, so they can't pump the water out.

"We looked in the window and saw our furniture wetand some [of it] floating," said Ji. "But the second floor is dry."

Ji said they haven't had time to finda gas-powered generator so that they can pumpthe water out of their house. While two pumps were draining water outside the back door of their restaurant Sunday, Ji said the water seems to be rising back up just as quickly as it drains.

The couple said they'vepiled all the groceries in the store up as high as they can, in case the water rises further and floods the main floor. Rows of sandbags are also nestled around the store.

Barely slept Friday night

On Sunday, a truckload of volunteers showed up at the store to hand out sandwiches and juice boxes. The food is being prepared at the Royal Canadian Legion on nearby Allbirch Road one of three emergency centres the City of Ottawa has set up during the flooding and made with ingredients donated by residents of Constance Bay and surrounding neighbourhoods.

Ironically, Zhang and Jimay be eating food they themselves donated when power was cut to their shed behind the restaurant.

"Ourtwo freezers in therewere full of food, and we didn't want the food to go bad" said Ji. "So we donated it to the legionas it started to thaw."

Zhang and her husband are now staying with her mother in Ottawa, and Zhang saidshe barely sleptFridaynight worrying about the flooding.

Theinsurance company, Zhang said, has already told her they aren't covered for flooding damage to their home. She said she'd be talking to the adjustoron Mondayto see if any damage to the business, which employs eightpeople, will be covered.

Then, as the sun broke though the clouds,Zhang smiled.

"Maybe the rain is done."