The threat of a levee breach forced Quebec Public Safety to order the preemptive evacuation of Chute-Saint-Philippe and Lac-des-Écorces in the Laurentians.
At the beginning of the evening, on Sunday evening, firefighters, police officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and officials from the Integrated Center for Health and Social Services (CISS) of the Laurentides began ringing the doors of a few thousand homes to inform the population , which they had to evacuate immediately.
On Monday at 11 a.m., almost all 350 apartments in Chute-Saint-Philippe and 651 apartments in Lac-des-Écorces were evacuated, Chute-Saint-Philippe Mayor Normand St-Amour said on HERE RDI.
The sectors at risk are the inhabitants of the Kiamika River, the river exiting the Kiamika Reservoir, where there is a dam and a dike that has anomalies.
“We started at the upper end of the river, near the levee in question, and actually went down from the more risky sections to the less risky sections. Everyone was evacuated,” Mr. St-Amour said.
The population had to take personal belongings with them for five days and go to the Jacques-Lesage sports center in Mont-Laurier at 801 rue Alix.
The authorities invite the displaced population to go to the sports center, including people who have found refuge with relatives. This is necessary for the development of the evacuee register, said Mayor St-Amour.
It is currently not known exactly how many people had to leave their homes.
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It is very well made
Mayor St-Amour says the operation was peaceful. Snow was initially cleared from the evacuated areas.
In the Mont Laurier Arena [Centre sportif Jacques-Lesage]The situation of the displaced persons is assessed on a case-by-case basis. The latter are cared for and relocated, either to their surroundings or to the hotel. If there are children, elderly people, people in need of care or animals; Everything will be taken care of and it will be done very well, he assured.
Residents who wish to collect personal items from their homes must submit an application to their municipality. The situations are assessed individually.
Schools closed
The Hautes-Laurentides School Service Center closed the Notre-Dame and Saint-François schools in Lac-des-Écorces and the Henri-Bourassa school in Chute-Saint-Philippe on Monday.
In addition, no bus routes (for primary and secondary school students) along the Kiamika River are operated in these sectors.
The unstable Morier dike
The authorities are expected to take stock of the situation this afternoon.
Since it is not yet possible to assess the risks, this evacuation will help prevent a possible emergency situation.
After inspecting a dike, an anomaly was discovered there, explained Mayor St-Amour, which led to the preventive evacuation. Today, analysts from the Ministry of the Environment are being mobilized to carry out a more in-depth assessment and we hope to receive answers as quickly as possible.
The municipality of Chute-Saint-Philippe highlighted existing dangers on its Facebook page following inspections of the infrastructure of the Kiamika Dam and the Morier Dike.
According to the Quebec Environment Ministry website, the Morier dike was built in 1954. The dam is 16 meters high and has a capacity of 382,000,000 cubic meters, equivalent to more than 100,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
But since the population has been evacuated, the prospect of the dike suggests a moderate scenario, says Normand St-Amour. There would certainly be a risk of damage to buildings, but no one would be in danger and that is the most important thing, he concludes.
During the press conference on Monday morning, Labelle MP Chantal Jeannotte stated that no one was in danger and that everyone was safe.
The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) member reiterates that evacuated residents are entitled to compensation under a government program.
With information from The Canadian Press