Bogged in the damage, the invoices and whims of their insurers, residents of Chemin du Foulon struck by floods in Quebec hope to have financial assistance. And “human” in some cases.
“What I want to have so far is help. Human aid. Sitting on the stairs in front of his home, Réjean Béland, 71, is out of breath. “I’m burned, madam. His clothes are smeared with dried mud. He has been trying for hours to get the wood out of his basement.
“There are still at least three strings. Mr. Béland has no money to pay someone to help him. Nor those around them to help him.
He says he wants to be careful to pay the cleaning company after claim. “Because if I pay everywhere, I’m going to pick myself up in Lauberivière [un refuge pour itinérants]. He inherited his parents’ house and has lived there since the 1960s.
The Foulon chemin runs along the cliff facing the river in the sector of the ancient town of Sillery. Thursday, in the space of a few minutes, waterfalls appeared in the cliff which borders its house and discharged in the street as well as in its courtyard, its basement and its truck.
About twenty residences had to be evacuated, on a 500 -meter section. On some grounds, the water has risen up to 4 feet high.
“The worst part is that insurance does not want to pay. Clauses are missing in my contract, ”laments Mr. Béland.
Tuesday evening, the city and the integrated university health and social service center (CIUSSS) of the Capitale-Nationale had invited residents to a meeting to take stock of the aid and services to which they are entitled.
They notably left the meeting with forms to make complaints in the city. How far can they be compensated and for what? It was not very clear for some. “The form is for material damage. We, what we had was water… ”noted Sylvie McCann, a resident who spent her life in the sector.
“A headache” literally and figuratively
Claude Thomassin, neighbor of Mr. Béland, was a little lucky than him in his unlucky. His insurer intends to pay him $ 40,000, but the man estimates that he will need $ 100,000 to repair everything.
Handles of pieces of puzzles litter the floor in front of his property. Probably resulting from a board of board games in the basement. Her spouse laughs when he is pointed out. “It’s a whole puzzle. »»
Mr. Thomassin points to the course. “The grids [des bouches d’égout] had not been cleaned at the top, ”he said, adding that the city has its share of responsibility. “The city must understand that wastewater installations do not provide. »»
This resident is concerned about the new districts that grow at the top of the cliff and which may further limit the absorption capacity of the soil. More than one neighbor has expressed it in Duty during his visit.
In the way, containers fill with waste smeared with dried mud. The city has notably added bulky collections to eliminate everything that has been soiled and broken by water. The CIUSSS also offered “psychosocial” support to those in whom it could cause psychological distress.
After the meeting, residents crossed by The duty reproached the authorities for not answering the right questions. “We didn’t know much in the background. Psychological aid is not what will repair business, ”deplored Claire Beaulieu. Its neighbor mme McCann wanted to know “what had caused it”, if the authorities had a plan to prevent it from happening again. “They told us that they were not here for that. »»
75 mm in two hours
Thursday, the storm line poured up to 75 mm of water in the sector in less than two hours.
“We see it, extreme weather conditions are multiplying, intensify, transform each season. We do not know where they will strike the next time, but we must prepare for it, “said Mayor Bruno Marchand, stressing that he had just created a financial reserve for this in the City, the” climate reserve “, which has $ 45 million.
The city does not yet know how much this episode will cost it elsewhere. “This should take two to three weeks in view of the pays,” said his spokesperson François Moisan, recalling that the staff had to put the duplicates to meet the needs.
In addition to the help provided in the Foulon path, important arteries had to be closed because the asphalt on the road was lifted under the pressure of the water. Portions of avenue Belvédère and the Côte de la Pente-Douce are also closed due to surfacing work.
Lévis in reflection
But it was in Lévis that the precipitation was the most intense, with a 93 mm accumulation in two hours in certain places. By comparison, in Montreal, there were 100 mm of rain in 90 minutes on July 13.
“He fell roughly the equivalent of what we receive in a month in summer,” said city spokesperson Michel Thisdel.
No one was evacuated on the South Shore, but the city assesses only 50 to 60 residences have potentially seen their basements flooded following the backdrop of sewer.
With residential construction, the City has greatly “watered” its surfaces in the urban sector, explains the director of the Lévis Civil Security Office, Richard Amnotte. “Our health network is not planned to receive very large amounts of water. »»
So what do we do? “We are in reflection. Municipalities must consider new solutions, he continues. We hear about sponge parks, tanks. […] But how to integrate them into an already established city? »»
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