In order to prepare in the event of a flood, the Montreal emergency services have just switched from “alert” mode to “intervention” mode, explained Tuesday the director of the Montreal Fire Department, Richard Liebmann, who had moved for a press conference in front of a dike in the Cartierville sector, with Mayor Valérie Plante.
“For the spring floods, the intervention mode means that we open a face-to-face coordination center, where we have representatives for communication, life-saving and property protection missions, the fire department, the SPVM, the consultation of the boroughs, representatives of the related cities, supplies, logistical support, detailed Mr. Liebmann. So any need can be answered instantly with all the resources of the City and the agglomeration. »
Citizens in need of assistance can call 311 with their needs, he added. Various local actions, including the distribution of sandbags, the establishment of dykes, the installation of shutter balloons and pumps, are organized in the sectors at risk.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Montreal’s emergency services have just switched from “alert” mode to “intervention” mode.
Mr. Liebmann noted that the situation was much less severe than during the floods of 2017 and 2019 which hit different sectors of the metropolitan area.
“Over the next 48 hours, the Ottawa River’s flow at the Carillon Dam is expected to be 6,500 cubic meters per second, up from over 9,000 cubic meters per second at the time of the 2019 floods. “, he specified.
But what happens next will depend on the weather for the next few days, he added, inviting citizens in risk areas to take all the necessary precautions and prepare an evacuation kit.
Dikes have been installed at various problematic locations in the boroughs of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Île Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève, continued the fire chief.
He also revealed that several actions were planned to protect residential areas from flooding in the longer term. “The civil security center is leading a committee for the implementation of more permanent measures, but these are very complex projects which require approvals from the Ministry of the Environment. We have about forty projects that are proposed and we are currently looking at the financing, the logistics, the means of deployment, and also the impact that these measures will have,” said Richard Liebmann.
Mayor Valérie Plante argued that all the thinking surrounding the risk of flooding was part of a broader movement to adapt to climate change, for which the Cities are asking Quebec City to conclude a Green Pact, accompanied by funding for the implementation of measures.