Companies specializing in post-disaster work have been overwhelmed since Friday. For Qualinet, this is even “unprecedented in 30 years of existence.” If the hurricane Debby caused headaches for many Quebecers over the weekend, the extent of the damage will still be felt this week.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 complaints were made over the weekend at the Steamatic company; at Qualinet, this number rose to 4,800. “Unprecedented” for both companies.
“What happened on Friday was the largest number of claims we’ve ever had in one day,” said Éric Pichette, President and CEO of Qualinet.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, 55 municipalities were affected by the hurricane. Debbyand eight of them have declared local states of emergency.
In total, 260 homes were affected and 400 people were evacuated.
The Qualinet line completely stopped working for a while, due to the abnormally high call volume.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Norman Street, in the borough of Saint-Laurent, was flooded on Friday.
In Montreal, “the 311 Service Center received more than 3,450 calls related to the consequences of the heavy rains that hit the city,” according to a written communication from the City of Montreal.
“There, we have 160 teams on the ground and at the time we speak, we have 14,200 machines [en marche] “, specifies Mr. Pichette, from Qualinet.
On weekends, the wait time to get through could be three or four hours. “It’s non-stop,” Pichette added.
The regions where reinforcements are most in demand? Lanaudière and Mauricie. In addition, four schools in Louiseville have reportedly suffered significant water damage, as the start of the school year approaches, Qualinet informs us.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Garage flooded by rain on Friday in Montreal
“We also expect additional growth in the number of claims, because people may be returning from vacation, people may have been out on the weekend,” believes Nancy Raymond, president of Steamatic Canada. Mr. Pichette believes that the “crisis” was amplified by the fact that the storm occurred on the weekend, when many insurance offices were closed.
For both companies, processing times are currently at least 48 hours.
Prepared companies
Qualinet had prepared its employees from Gaspésie, Baie-Comeau and Abitibi to come and lend a hand to their colleagues in the most affected municipalities.
“On the other hand, the problem we’re experiencing is that, for people from outside who are staying in Trois-Rivières or Montreal, the hotels are all full,” emphasizes Éric Pichette, who is referring to tourism, but also to disaster victims who need temporary housing.
For its part, Steamatic had also followed the trajectory of the hurricane Debby.
“We were even forced to purchase additional equipment,” explains Mr.me Raymond, President of Steamatic Canada.
A total of 100 dehumidifiers and 250 blowers were ordered.
The president of Qualinet is afraid that disasters will become more frequent in the coming years due to climate change.
“If the population can also start to do their part by freeing up the room so that, when our teams arrive, we immediately go into demolition, drying and strategy mode to be able to control the damage, that would help greatly,” emphasizes Nancy Raymond.
As of Sunday evening, around 10 p.m., 3,405 customers were still without power in the province, mainly in Estrie, the Laurentians and Montreal, according to the Hydro-Québec website.