First Report on the Tornado and Violent Winds of September 21

Gatineau, September 28, 2018. – One week after the tornado, Gatineau is releasing its first report on the interventions in the city's different sectors.

Gatineau continues to work hand in hand with its many partners on restoring the situation as quickly as possible: Red Cross, Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSO), Société pour la prévention de la cruauté aux animaux (SPCA) de l'Outaouais, Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO), Ambulance St-Jean, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), Salvation Army, Société Saint-Vincent de Paul, Moisson Outaouais and Sauvetage Bénévoles Outaouais.

Recap of the events

●	The tornado that hit Gatineau on Friday evening around 5 p.m. was mainly concentrated in the Hull sector.

●	The hardest hit area (Mont-Bleu) has 205 buildings, including 1,686 dwellings.

●	Violent winds also swept through the Aylmer and Gatineau sectors. - 121 buildings outside the hardest hit area were also damaged.

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- At the peak of the crisis on September 21, the following resources were in place: - 108 firefighters (87 from the Service de sécurité incendie de Gatineau and 21 from the municipalities of Cantley, Val-des-Monts and Chelsea); - 30 patrol officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau; - 50 employees from the Service des travaux publics; - 23 employees from the Service des loisirs, des sports et du développement des communautés to provide direct support to the tornado victims; and - 14 STO shuttles to evacuate the victims and take them to the victims centre.

●	The emergency response centre was up and running by around 6 p.m., and all municipal departments pitched in to help with municipal interventions.

●	The 911 urgent call centre received 212 calls on September 21 between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

●	The 311 non-urgent call centre received 241 tornado-related requests. The Friday night call volume was three times the usual. On Saturday and Sunday, the 311 call centre received twice as many calls as usual.

●	Since September 21, five information meetings have been organized by Gatineau, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Red Cross to answer the victims' questions.

Quick facts

●	The emergency response coordination centre is still open.

●	A mobile command post has been set up in the hardest hit area (Mont-Bleu). Police are patrolling the Mont-Bleu area day and night.

●	The victims centre and the temporary accommodation centre remains open at the Centre communautaire Père-Arthur-Guertin (16 rue Bériault).

●	All of the affected buildings have been returned to their owners. The victims are being gradually reintegrated with the support of the Gatineau fire department and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ).

●	Six applications have been received for a certificate of authorization to demolish, and two building permits have been received for full renovations by the Service de l'urbanisme et du développement durable (SUDD).

●	Two buildings have been demolished.

●	60 buildings in Gatineau were seriously damaged.

●	So far, there have been two meetings regarding the accommodation of the victims (Thursday morning and Friday afternoon).

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For the period from September 21 to 27, - 1,762 residents registered at the victims centre. - 708 people were put up in hotels, and 791 stayed at the accommodation centre in the Cégep de l'Outaouais (Friday and Saturday) and at the Centre communautaire Père-Arthur-Guertin (Sunday to Thursday). - 392 STO bus passes were handed out to tornado victims. - 5,000 meals were served by the Salvation Army at the victims centre. - $2,130,000 in donations were received by the Red Cross.

Services to victims

Registration and location of tornado victims

●	Tornado victims who have not yet registered with the Red Cross can do so in person at the victims centre or by calling 1-800-863-6582.

●	To find out whether someone has registered at the victims centre, call the 311 non-urgent call centre. For calls from outside Gatineau, use the 1-866-299-2002 toll-free number.

Provincial general elections – October 1, 2018

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The directeur général des élections du Québec (DGEQ) has relocated the polling stations in the Hull constituency. - The polling stations at the Mont-Bleu and Philémon Wright high schools have been moved to Village Place Cartier (425 boulevard Saint-Joseph, ground floor) - The polling station at the Centre communautaire Père-Arthur-Guertin has been moved to the Centre communautaire Fontaine (120 rue Charlevoix).

●	The STO will provide a shuttle service between the victims centre and those two polling stations. The shuttles will depart every hour on the hour between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Forwarded mail – Canada Post

●	Tornado victims will be able to pick up their mail at one of two temporary Canada Post sites as follows: - 120 rue Edmonton: Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. - 16 rue Bériault: Monday to Friday, from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Insurance Bureau of Canada

●	The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has confirmed that damage caused by violent winds and tornadoes is covered under most homeowners insurance policies.

Accelerated demolition and reconstruction approval process

●	Gatineau has set up an accelerated process for demolition certificate and building permit approvals.

●	Those applications will be given priority by the Service de l'urbanisme et du développement durable (SUDD).

●	The following email addresses are to be used for certificate of authorization and building permit applications, respectively: tornade.demolition@gatineau.ca and tornade.reconstruction@gatineau.ca

●	Property owners should call the following number if they have any questions about certificates of authorization or building permits: 819-243-2345, extension 2481

Donations and assistance from residents

●	The receipt and distribution of donations at the former Sears location in Galeries de Hull will terminate this evening at 8 p.m.

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As of October 1, residents wishing to make donations can do so directly to the following organizations: - Moisson Outaouais: perishable and non-perishable food and personal hygiene products (37 rue Bombardier, Gatineau sector) - Société Saint-Vincent de Paul: clothes (56 rue Principale, Aylmer sector, 109 rue Wright, 102 rue Eddy and 751 boulevard Saint-Joseph, Hull sector, 1291 rue Saint-Louis and 165 avenue Gatineau, Gatineau sector, and 438 avenue Buckingham, Buckingham sector)

●	Residents wishing to help the tornado victims can make a cash donation through the Red Cross at www.gatineau.ca/croix-rouge.

●	Contractors wishing to offer their services are asked to contact the Service des approvisionnements de la Ville de Gatineau at 819-243-2315.

Gatineau thanks all of the partners who have lent a hand since September 21: Red Cross, Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSO), ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS), ministère de la sécurité publique (MSP), Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO), Ambulance St-Jean, Insurance Bureau of Canada (BAC), Salvation Army, Société Saint-Vincent de Paul, Grands Frères Grandes Soeurs de l'Outaouais (GFGSO), Moisson Outaouais, Sauvetage Bénévoles Outaouais, Société pour la prévention de la cruauté aux animaux (SPCA) de l'Outaouais, Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) et Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ), Hydro-Québec, Gazifère, Cégep de l'Outaouais, and the Cantley, Chelsea and Val-des-Monts fire departments.

Images

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Associated links

gatineau.ca/tornado

Canada Post

Élections Québec

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