Spring floods | Quebecers should be spared this year

Quebecers should not find their feet in the water this spring, according to Environment Canada. Good for Caroline Bérubé and Yves Bernier, who are still waiting for compensation from the Quebec Ministry of Public Security, five years after the 2017 floods.

Lila Dussault
The Press

This year, no region of Quebec is facing the dangerous weather cocktail that causes spring flooding. “We remain at the mercy of river jams, but we do not anticipate any major problems in Quebec for the next two to three weeks,” said André Cantin, meteorologist at Environment Canada. A combination of very mild temperatures, which accelerate the melting of the snow cover, and recurring rain in large quantities generally causes the waters to rise, explains Mr. Cantin.

This is good news as a recent survey by Ipsos reveals that only 4% of Quebecers have taken measures to protect their homes from climate risks such as flooding, compared to 11% in the rest of the Canada.

In 2017, the family of Caroline Bérubé, who lives in Sainte-Geneviève, in the west of Montreal, believed to be safe. Only part of the land of the house, on the bank of the Rivière des Prairies, was considered to be flooded, explains the mother of three children. And again, it was every 100 years, she says, assuring that she had done her “homework” before buying. Built in 1967, the house had never had a problem with the spring flood. “For 15 years, we did not have a drop of water, no problem, it was paradise on earth”, testified M^me Bérubé, during a visit from The Press.

When the river burst its banks and reached the foundation of the house in April 2017 – despite the protection of sandbags – the family of five found themselves at the hotel. For one year.

Five years later, she is still fighting to obtain compensation from the Quebec Ministry of Public Security, in order to stabilize the foundations of the home by piling.

Climatic changes

Flooding affects 80% of riverside municipalities in Quebec, according to a report by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) published in March 2021. In the future, the effects of climate change may surprise us. “The intensity of spring floods, such as those experienced in 2011, 2017 and 2019, should decrease in the long term, specifies the report, that is to say during the second half of the century. »

In summer and fall, on the contrary, the floods could intensify, warns the INSPQ. Other factors, such as land development by humans, could also influence “the occurrence and intensity of flooding,” the report says.

These disasters have significant financial and human costs in Quebec. They increase mortality “significantly”, as well as the incidence of certain heart diseases and diabetes, indicates the INSPQ report, in addition to costing millions of dollars to taxpayers.

The floods also have a significant effect on the mental health of the affected population, specifies the INSPQ. “There have been two suicides in our neighborhood and a fatal heart attack, but nobody talks about that! “, is indignant M^me Berube.

The government is getting ready

A new national flood insurance program is being developed by provinces and Emergency Preparedness to help protect homeowners who live in high-risk flood zones, the Canadian government announced Tuesday.

Such protection could benefit the Bérubé family, whose home is now considered to be in a flood zone, even though the family has made many arrangements to prevent a future disaster.

On Tuesday, Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair also announced the formation of an advisory group to update Canada’s Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program. Founded in 1970, the AAFCC helps provincial governments if the costs of a natural disaster exceed their ability to pay. “Due to the increasing number of events, the cost of the program has skyrocketed,” the announcement’s press release said.

“All our lives, we worked, we built, to be able to buy. And now who’s gonna buy our house [qui a perdu sa valeur] ? “laments Caroline Bérubé.