Spring flooding: Status on roads and recovery measures to come

Gatineau, May 11, 2017. – A considerable decrease in water levels has been observed in some areas of the city. The first recovery steps have been triggered. Several measures need to be taken before things can return to normal. Gatineau would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding.

Status on roads

●	Several streets are still closed in flooded areas.

●	Motorists are urged to slow down and to avoid driving in these areas unnecessarily.

●	During morning rush hour, both lanes of the Alonzo-Wright Bridge will be one way (to Saint-Joseph Boulevard). - The return to two-way lanes should occur after rush hour, around 9:30 a.m.

●	As a reminder, Highway 50 has reopened in both directions - Access ramps from Saint-Louis Street remain closed.

●	Public transportation is still free on STO's entire network and will remain so until the end of bus operations on the night of Friday to Saturday. - STO is also collecting, on its buses, donations for the Red Cross for the benefit of flood victims.

●	To plan their travels, residents are still urged to consult the map of streets affected by the floods on the municipal website.

Recovery measures before streets can be reopened

●	Residents are asked to follow the signage in place on the different streets, until they are repaired.

●	The overall actions and various steps of the recovery plan to come before the streets are reopened are found on the website www.gatineau.ca/crue.

Sandbags

●	Gatineau has provided 15,000 filled sandbags to MRC de la Mitis, at their request.

Government financial assistance to individuals and businesses affected by the flood

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Following the information session that took place Wednesday night in Gatineau on government financial assistance, flood victims wishing to meet with a representative from ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec may make an appointment by dialing 1-888-643-2433. - An office has been set up for this purpose at Centre sportif de Gatineau (850 De La Gappe Boulevard, room 254) and will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until May 19.

Statistics and quick facts

Preventive and voluntary evacuations

●	Number of homes evacuated by Service de sécurité incendie: 547

●	Persons evacuated on a voluntary basis by Service de sécurité incendie: 850

●	Persons registered at the centres for flood victims: 1,267 - Jean-René-Monette: 1,104 - Masson-Angers: 163 - Number of pets evacuated (registered/looked after): more than 150

●	Homes where gas is still shut off: 266

●	Homes where power is still shut off: 378

Information to residents

●	Persons registered to text alerts: 6,034

●	Visits to the webpage on flooding: 131,728 visits (since May 1)

Non-emergency call centre (311)

●	More than 12,900 calls between May 1 and May 11 (2 p.m.)

Note

Statistics for this news release were last updated at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, 2017. These are the latest statistics available.

Enclosures

What to do once the water has receded?

Recovery measures before reopening Gatineau's streets

Related links

Webpage on spring flooding

Impacts on traffic and map of flooded streets and sandbag distribution sites

STO's website

MTQ's website

Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec website

Images

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