(Montreal) The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, flew to the Magdalen Islands on Sunday morning to see the extent of the damage that the post-tropical storm Fiona left in its path.
Posted at 11:27
“Friday, we had sent additional preventive reinforcements, so people from the Sûreté du Québec, Hydro-Québec, the Ministry of Transport, Civil Security and the Ministry of Public Security. We are going to meet these people and take stock of the situation. These people are tired and we can understand it, they have been in intense preparation and intervention for 3-4 days. So we are going to thank them and see with them the damage on the spot, ”said Minister Guilbault in a press scrum before boarding the plane.
The Îles-de-la-Madeleine were hard hit by the passage of FionaSaturday, which also devastated Nova Scotia and other parts of the Atlantic.
Shortly before 9 a.m., Geneviève Guilbault took stock of the situation in Quebec, rather optimistic this time for the citizens of the Lower North Shore.
“The report we have this morning, the wind storm ended around 10 p.m. in the Magdalen Islands and it is still in progress this morning in the Lower North Shore, in Blanc-Sablon particularly . The combination of waves and storm surge there leads us to believe there could be some coastal outbursts, but so far so good. “, she pointed out.
There were only 255 customers left without power in the Magdalen Islands, around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, out of some 1,714 Hydro-Quebec customers in the area the day before.
“There were no deaths. There are no casualties. It’s always the main thing to make sure people are safe. The road network in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine was restored last night as well,” said the Minister of Public Security.
The municipality also announced on its Facebook page, around 10 a.m. Sunday, that the situation had returned to normal for drinking water, almost everywhere.
“The situation regarding municipal drinking water wells has returned to normal, with the exception of L’Île-du-Havre-Aubert, where the wells are still not operating at full capacity. We therefore ask the citizens of the sector to limit their consumption of drinking water as much as possible, ”specifies the publication on the social network.
Disaster relief
As for disaster relief, it should become clearer over the next few hours. At last count, there were 37 people who had been evacuated to one of the four temporary accommodation centers available.
“These people were redirected to commercial accommodation because it is always more comfortable than a collective accommodation center and since there were not many evacuees, we were able to do it. with the collaboration of the Red Cross”, indicated Geneviève Guilbault.
“At the beginning of the week, we are going to open a disaster assistance office on site, for people who have damage to their private property to, as we are used to doing in the event of a disaster, inform them about our financial assistance programs, open the files and provide this support directly on site,” she continued.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that we should have a better idea of the extent and nature of the damage at the end of the day.
“What I’m told on a preliminary basis this morning is that there wouldn’t be a lot of damage to the road network or municipal infrastructure and critical infrastructure. Obviously, we expect damage to private property in some citizens, so we’re going to go through all of this today, now that it’s safe to do so. »
No army needed
Moreover, the government of Quebec will not call on the help of the army, as Nova Scotia has done.
“We don’t need the army. Our operational capacity has not been exceeded at all. The teams had been ready for at least four days. All week, we’ve been preparing for the arrival of Fiona “said Minister Guilbault.
On the other hand, it was still uncertain at this stage whether the Government of Quebec was going to present a request for financial assistance to the federal government.
It should also be noted that the state of emergency, decreed by the municipality on Friday, is in effect for a period of five days.
“It will then be up to them to see if they still need it,” said the Minister of Public Security.
Changed Advance Voting
Unsurprisingly, advance voting was canceled on Sunday in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine due to the passage of the post-tropical storm Fiona.
The advance polling stations were therefore closed, as well as the office of the returning officer.
If weather conditions permit, voters in the Magdalen Islands will be able to vote in advance on Monday, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., indicated Elections Quebec.
It will also be possible to vote in advance at the office of the returning officer from September 27 to 29.