‘Situation is improving’: Quebec public security minister visits storm-struck Sainte-Julienne
Posted August 14, 2024 12:50 pm.
Last Updated August 14, 2024 6:38 pm.
More than 2,000 homes and 53 roads in Quebec were damaged after the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby came through Quebec on Friday, leaving several areas of the province in a state of emergency five days later.
Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel toured some of the worst hit areas on Wednesday.
At a press conference in Sainte-Julienne, about 70 kilometres north of Montreal, Bonnardel said 34 Quebec municipalities were affected by Debby and 464 people were evacuated. Thirty-eight homes — from a total of 2,300 hit hard by the storm — remain flooded, he said, and 24 homes remain isolated.
“The situation has been improving since Sunday night,” he said. “Over 2,000 homes were damaged by flooding over the weekend. Nearly 400 people were working on the ground to restore power with Hydro-Québec. The (Quebec Transport Ministry, the MTQ) is working hard to restore infrastructure and reopen the roads.”
Around 163 millimetres of rain fell on Sainte-Julienne, a town of 12,000 residents, in just a few hours last week.
Roads were torn up, asphalt was lifted, trees were torn down, and homes damaged by the flood
“We don’t have the count of how many houses have been affected but it’s huge, huge, huge,” said Sainte-Julienne Mayor Jean-Pierre Charron. “Many houses, the basement have been flooded.”
Several roads in Sainte-Julienne were destroyed, including Saint-Francois Street. Officials have been working on alternate routes to help those stranded and isolated.
Sainte-Julienne resident Danielle Bédard could not leave her property for several days because her driveway was damaged due to flooding and the adjacent road was inaccessible.
“I couldn’t get out of the house,” she recounted. “So I was here for four or five days since it happened. And for those who could take the road, but they couldn’t take the road. The road was blocked. It was closed.
“It was panicking. I called the mayor, but nothing happened. So I had to wait for somebody to repair the road on my property.”
Mayor Charron says he’s standing with the residents who saw their homes or properties damaged by the water.
“I’m with them,” Charron said. “You don’t see me making videos a lot where you talk like that, but I’m on the ground. I’ve been through a flood in our home before. I lost the floor of my house… my heart goes out to them. And I don’t let go of them until it’s all over.”
Sainte-Julienne has been under a state of emergency, which is coming to an end Wednesday evening.
“The goal of the emergency measures was to open up people, to ensure that there were roads for people’s safety,” Charron explained.
“We did everything to accommodate people, we had the help of a business that provided us with food for everything we needed. We had a very strong collaboration from our fire department.”
Highway 125 going into Sainte-Julienne had also been closed, but is now open to alternating traffic, and part of highway 337 remains closed for an undetermined period because of erosion.
“You know, I have neighbours, they lived here since 1940, ’50, and they never saw something like that,” said Bédard. “So you know, damaged nature, if we don’t do something, I’m worried about our future, the future of our kids. Because it’s an emergency to do something.”
Bonnardel says Quebec has suffered from a number of extreme weather events in the last several years, including intense spring flooding in 2017 and 2019 and forest fires last summer.
On Sunday, the provincial government announced financial aid would be available to certain municipalities, its residents, and businesses, impacted by the flooding.
“It’s accessible right now,” he said. “It’s easy to file so people can go on it. I think there’s about 700 people that have been already filed this program concerning the help that we can give them already.”
But Bonnardel also said municipalities would have to invest more to prevent future flooding.
The province says 1,068 claims were filed by individuals, tenants or municipalities as of Wednesday. For more information or to file a claim, Quebecers can visit this website.
Bonnardel also called on insurance companies to “be present” for their customers who are looking for answers and need to talk to someone.
“I know it is extremely difficult for many citizens who have lost everything and who have to rely on their private insurance,” said Bonnardel.
The minister was accompanied in Sainte-Julienne by the Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx and Rousseau MNA Louis-Charles Thouin.
