Discouraged after spending the day cleaning up the damage caused by their backed-up sewers, disaster-stricken Montrealers lamented Wednesday that they were taken aback without being duly warned.
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“They send kidnapping alerts to the other side of the planet. We could have been warned. We would have prepared,” said Isabelle Lukabacki, 44, indignantly.
On Wednesday, the owner got up in the early morning to tear up the entire ruined floating floor of her basement, in her plex on rue Adam, in the borough of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
The day before, the deluge of 80 mm of rain caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage to her property, she estimates.
“In two hours, we received practically the rainwater that we usually receive in a month,” said Valérie Plante, mayor of the City of Montreal, on Wednesday, assuring that her teams had been proactive.
However, no alert had been sent by Environment Canada to warn Montrealers (read other text).
Some residents were treated to the total: toilets forming veritable geysers, baths filled with contaminated water and floors covered in feces.
“We were having supper. And suddenly, we heard the Niagara Falls, ”said Myriam Deslongchamps, 29, who lives with her small family on Pie-IX Boulevard.
“It came out of the sink, the bath, the toilet, the shower, she listed. It was coming out like a fire hydrant. »
Courtesy picture
Due to heavy rain, Myriam Deslongchamps and Damien Bernadet suffered significant damage. Their shower and bath ended up full of water that came up from the sewers
“We did not have an alert”, also regretted the mother of the family.
Nothing to do
For his part, Alexandre Rochon does not believe that he could have apprehended such a scenario – but a warning would not have been refused.
“I was trying to keep the water out, but there was nothing to do. It came in through both doors, and it came out of the toilet, ”says the resident of Avenue Desjardins.
“Water is one thing. But the excrement which floated everywhere, it is not possible, ”detailed Ms. Deslongchamps.
“We were completely powerless against this flow of water,” lamented her spouse, Damien Bernadet, 35.
Passing by on Wednesday The newspaper struggled to breathe the smell that took in the nose, while the couple was in the middle of cleaning.
Exhausted, the young mother’s eyes were red as she realized they might have to be relocated for months with their little ones, Aria, 3, and Milo, 1.
“I don’t know what we can do. We’ll try to barricade the basement. It must be viable and not harmful to our health, mentioned Ms. Deslongchamps. It’s an additional stress that, in life, you don’t feel like dealing with. »
“perpetual” problem
Mr. Bernadet was also saddened by the fact that the City had known for a long time that there was this problem with the sewers, without ever fixing it.
“We live in the “basin” of Pie-IX. It’s been a bunch of times that we report to the City that there is a problem, but nothing is being done, ”he plagues.
“Remediate the problem, otherwise, in a month, if there is the same accumulation of water, it will have to start again,” argued Jonathan Desclin, 45, of Adam Street.
►Afraid of the idea of not being covered by their insurers, all the victims met by The newspaper Wednesday were considering making a claim to the City of Montreal.