(Montreal) “Everyone is alive, we were able to avoid a disaster,” said the mayor of the City of Saguenay, Julie Dufour, at a press conference on Saturday.
Posted at 1:23 p.m.
A total of 76 families have now been evacuated from the La Baie sector, where the risk of a landslide is high.
Although she is relieved that everyone is safe and sound, Mayor Dufour recalled that a lot of work remains to be done and that while awaiting the test results, it is still “far too early to predict everything that will happen. pass “.
“Anything can happen as we speak, we are not certain,” warned the director of fire safety services and coordinator of emergency measures for the municipality, Carol Girard, speaking of “risk of movement imminent ground”.
“We are working with the military base, the Red Cross, private owners” and the Quebec government to manage the crisis, said the mayor.
Questioned by journalists, the Quebec Minister of Housing and the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, Andrée Laforest, declared that “yes, it will take a decree for the state of emergency”. Such a decree should be signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault.
Mme Laforest indicated that already, “there are 30 homes that have been released with the Office de l’habitation de Saguenay” to accommodate displaced residents.
Others could be added in the future, added Mayor Dufour, as all possibilities are being studied, “from the campground to the residence for the elderly, to the residence for students”.