Spring flood: Rockfill this evening on boulevard Fournier, and maritime military support to the firefighters teams of the Service de sécurité incendie de Gatineau
Gatineau, April 26, 2019. – Public works crews will be laying rockfill on boulevard Fournier in anticipation of the potential for rising water as a result of the expected rainfall. More than 35 mm of rain is expected tomorrow. Approximately 20 Navy personnel are supporting Gatineau firefighters in evacuations by water.
The presence of water has affected traffic, with several street closures in certain areas complicating travel. The situation is changing by the hour. Gatineau encourages residents to car-share and use public transit.
Quick facts
| ● | A contingency plan has been set in place for this evening's rush hour and tomorrow near Pont Alonzo:
- from 3 to 6:30 p.m., traffic will be one-way in the Gatineau sector direction; and.
- from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. traffic will be one-way in the Hull sector direction. |
| ● | Water levels are still rising. The 0-20 year level (major flooding) has been reached at all five hydrometric stations. |
| ● | Crews are out in force, supported by a team of Canadian Armed Forces personnel. |
| ● | Military personnel are being assigned in accordance with the priorities and needs established by Gatineau. |
| ● | Since the start of the crisis, Service de sécurité incendie de Gatineau (SSIG) firefighters have distributed 205 voluntary evacuation notices. In addition, the SSIG has received 29 requests for help with evacuations. |
| ● | Gatineau asks residents to remain vigilant, and encourages them to take the necessary measures to ensure their safety and protect their homes. |
| ● | Gatineau asks that everyone avoid driving through the flooded areas, unless absolutely necessary, in order to ensure that they remain accessible to response vehicles. |
Number of residents registered as flood victims
At this point (16 h), 636 people have registered, including 542 adults and 94 children, for a total of 306 households. The registration also applies to businesses.
As of 2 p.m. today, the distribution of households whose occupants have registered is as follows:
- Close to 20 from the Masson-Angers sector
- Close to 150 from boulevard Hurtubise
- 135 in the Pointe-Gatineau district
- None from the Aylmer sector
Residents and businesses affected by one of the following situations are asked to register with Gatineau by
calling 311, option 6:
- Have evacuated or expect to evacuate shortly
- Have suffered damage to their homes or buildings
- Live or are established in areas affected by the spring flood.
Registrations are also being taken at the two victims support centres:
- Centre communautaire Jean-René-Monette (89 rue Jean-René-Monette);
- Masson-Angers service centre (57 chemin Montréal Est).
Flood victims requiring emergency housing or special assistance should go to the centre communautaire Jean-René-Monette (89 rue Jean-René-Monette) or to the Masson-Angers service centre (57 chemin Montréal Est). The Red Cross is on hand from 8:30 a.m. to midnight to assess their needs.
Sand distribution sites
| ● | Sandbags are available for residents to pick up at 12 distribution sites throughout Gatineau.
|
| ● | The sandbag distribution site that used to be at the corner of du Quai and du Fer-à-Cheval has been relocated to 211 chemin du Quai.
|
| ● | To date, more than 615,000 sandbags have been distributed. |
Reminder – Garbage collection
| ● | There will be no curbside garbage collection on Friday on the closed streets of Pointe-Gatineau due to the water accumulation. |
| ● | Containers for household garbage and compost bins will be provided for those residents from around 6 p.m. this evening until around 3 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) at the following five locations:
- Corner of Rodolphe and St-Louis;
- Corner of Jacques-Cartier and Joseph-Bélanger;
- Corner of Lapointe and Donald St-Jacques;
- Corner of boulevard de La Gappe and Oxford street;
- On ruelle Como, near rue St-Antoine. |
| ● | These are reserved exclusively for the nearby residents to drop off their household garbage and compost that could not be picked up. |
| ● | It should be noted that the containers are only for household garbage. A special collection will be organized later for flood victims' oversized items. |
| ● | The other areas affected by water are being assessed. For the time being, the regular collection schedule stands. Residents are asked to leave their bins as close as possible to the street without touching the water. |
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