Rose-Marie Gallagher still remembers the storm that hit Sainte-Flavie on December 6, 2010. The sea, as the river is called in this corner of Bas-Saint-Laurent, rushed to the coast and carried some of the water away from the shore.
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“It went up to the top of the patio door. “A small foundation collapsed and the sea entered the crawl space,” says the septuagenarian. The wooden wall that was supposed to protect the bank and the large shed had “disappeared like a house of cards” piece by piece.
There were “a little funny” moments, watching a “beautiful new pavilion, all fancy, dancing over the sea,” but “the next morning it was a little less funny because we saw the damage.”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ROSE-MARIE GALLAGHER
The house where Rose-Marie Gallagher and Pierre Bouchard lived, on the riverbank in Sainte-Flavie
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ROSE-MARIE GALLAGHER
The house where Rose-Marie Gallagher and Pierre Bouchard lived, on the riverbank in Sainte-Flavie
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When the first government offers came in a few months later, Ms Gallagher and her partner Pierre Bouchard had no desire to leave the large wooden house where their four children had grown up. “We didn't feel at risk because the house had been raised and the stone fill had been improved. »
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But when Quebec offered a new program in 2019, the couple reconsidered.
Ms Gallagher was a councilor at the time, having been mayor of the village. Mr. Bouchard did a lot of volunteer work.
You don't feel good about it, but at some point, like everyone else, you make the best decision for yourself and don't judge others. A lady blamed us for leaving and ended up leaving herself…
Rose Marie Gallagher
When she decided to leave, there was “no fear, no crumb,” but rather the thought that “the children would inherit.” [leur] house and it would be difficult for them to sell.”
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
The day after the storm of December 6, 2010, Pierre Bouchard, wife of Rose-Marie Gallagher, watches as a mechanical excavator works to create a protective barrier against the next floods.
They moved to Rimouski, within walking distance of the river, near a bike path and, best of all, in the same town as their grandchildren.
“It was something, this uprooting,” Ms. Gallagher says.
Because the church didn't demolish his house immediately, it ended up “looking like the devil,” with a curtain hanging from a broken window.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ROSE-MARIE GALLAGHER
The house where Rose-Marie Gallagher and Pierre Bouchard lived in Sainte-Flavie was demolished in autumn 2021.
“I come from Chandler, in Gaspésie, I have experienced village closures, I have seen abandoned houses with broken windows and curtains blowing in the wind. Since I was no longer able, I called the church. »
On the day of the demolition, the previous owner didn't come by until late in the afternoon. “She was on the ground. It's something, I'm telling you. »
“Many emotions, questions and challenges in this whole saga that residents have experienced! ” summarized Ms. Gallagher in “The big dilemma: go or stay…?”, a text that was published in a collection in 2020.
The community told us that around 37 households gave up their land in 2011, and 22 more in 2019.
Exit allowances were also granted in the municipalities of Sainte-Luce, Sainte-Félicité, Matane, Rimouski, Métis-sur-Mer and Grand-Métis, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
“When we held information sessions in 2010 and 2019, we made requests to the health authority, they sent a team,” explains Francine Roy, deputy treasurer and former general manager of Sainte-Flavie.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Some of the damage caused by the storm of December 6, 2010 in Sainte-Flavie
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
View of the kitchen floor of a riverside house that collapsed during the December 6, 2010 storm in Sainte-Flavie
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Some of the damage caused by the storm of December 6, 2010 in Sainte-Flavie
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Some of the damage caused by the storm of December 6, 2010 in Sainte-Flavie
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For some residents, “their idea was already figured out, they didn’t want to stay there any longer,” Ms. Roy says. “A lady who came to the practice was constantly crying and had difficulty speaking. » But she also remembers a couple where one spouse wanted to leave and the other wanted to stay. “Let’s just say it was a bit problematic. »
“Human Problems”
There is still very little research into the impact of coastal erosion on residents' health, Bas-Saint-Laurent health authorities admitted in their comprehensive assessment of the regional population's vulnerability to climate change published last year. “As this danger sets in gradually, the health consequences are less physical and more related to psychological and social effects,” the authors emphasize.
Sainte-Flavie, which had 946 inhabitants in 2010, will have around one hundred fewer in 2022.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Route 132, in Sainte-Flavie, the day after the December 6, 2010 storm
The coastal village has provided a lot of support to its citizens and invested in its infrastructure. Still, the water and wastewater distribution network that runs along Route 132 remains a concern.
Residential buildings are a protection for the street. So if we remove them and create undeveloped land, our network will definitely be weakened a little. [face aux] future floods.
Francine Roy, deputy treasurer and former general manager of Sainte-Flavie
However, she remembers that Route 132 belongs to the Department of Transportation, so “they have to.” [la] protect.”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JULIA SANTOS SILVA
Julia Santos Silva, Coordinator of the Interregional Forum on Coastal Risks
When it comes to adaptation, “we think a lot about physical phenomena, but there are also a lot of human problems,” emphasizes Julia Santos Silva, Coordinator of the first Interregional Forum on Coastal Risks, which will bring together six regions in Rivière-du-Loup at the end of May.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
A truck and a mechanical excavator work to rock the shore after the December 6, 2010 storm.
There is a particular focus on mental health related to climate change and awareness of coastal and climate risks. The aim is to equip municipalities whose task is to support citizens, explains Ms. Santos Silva, project manager at the Bas-Saint-Laurent regional environmental council.
“Even when people are aware of the risks, it is sometimes difficult to accept that staying in certain sectors is no longer possible and people will have to move. »