Spring flooding: update May 4, 2017 at 4 p.m.

Gatineau, May 4, 2017. – Ministère de la Sécurité publique has confirmed an agreement with the Red Cross concerning the care of flood victims.

The Red Cross will continue to provide essential services to flood victims, including housing, food, clothing and living expenses. The costs related to these services will be fully covered by the Ministère, throughout the evacuation.

In addition, psychosocial support is still being offered by CISSSO, in cooperation with the Red Cross.

Status report

●	The water levels have remained relatively stable today.

●	Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting another depression tonight. More than 50 mm of rain is expected in Gatineau by Sunday.

Various tips

●	Reminder: avoid the flooded areas whenever possible, whether by car or even by boat.

●	Should you need to venture out to these areas, please proceed very slowly. This is paramount in order to limit the production of waves and to ensure the safety of people.

●	It is important to respect the temporary signage and barricades in place.

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Gatineau is closing streets as a safety measure, including in the following cases: -obstacles are underwater and pose a risk (debris, electric wires or other); -ditches are full of water and no longer visible; -the pavement is deteriorating; -vehicular traffic is becoming too difficult; -the weight of vehicles is making the pavement unstable.

●	To find out about the latest updates on street closures, consult the map on www.gatineau.ca/crue.

●	Gatineau would like to remind the owners of artesian wells to take the necessary measures to maintain the quality of their water.

Volunteers

●	Residents who wish to offer their services as volunteers are invited to dial 311.

●	The main task at hand is to fill sandbags. It is recommended to bring a shovel.

Statistics

Preventive and voluntary evacuations

●	Persons evacuated on a voluntary basis: 240

●	Number of homes evacuated: 143

●	Persons being looked after by the Red Cross: 176

●	Homes where gas has been shut off: 128

●	Homes where power has been shut off: 7

●	Number of homes visited by firefighters (since May 1): more than 500

Sandbags

●	Number of bags distributed since May 1: 66,000

●	Number of sandbags distributed since April 18: 141,000

●	Inventory: -Number of filled bags: 5,600 -Number of empty bags ready to be filled: 23,000

Information to residents

●	People registered for text alerts: close to 750

●	Visits to the flooding webpage: more than 22,000 visits (since May 1)

Note

●	Statistics for this news release were last updated at 2:45 p.m. on May 4, 2017. These are the latest statistics available.

Associated link

Flooding webpage

Images

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