AS WATERS RECEDE
After an exhausting, stressful, heartbreaking week, the flood waters that wreaked havoc in the West Island, VaudreuilSoulanges, Laval, Gatineau and other communities have been receding, though the situation has worsened downstream.
The disaster brought out the best in people. There was an impressive display of social solidarity as Quebecers helped each other in whatever ways they could. Overall, government authorities reacted appropriately. The AMT even offered free train service on two lines.
Efforts to look on the bright side notwithstanding, the fact remains: this situation has been catastrophic.
And as the adrenalin starts to wear off, it’s clear the challenges are only beginning for those whose property has been flooded. Inevitably, the help brigades will soon be moving on, leaving those at the centre of the tragedy to continue to struggle through compensation claims (few insurance policies cover such flooding), renovations, replacement of lost property and sadness over the loss of irreplaceable mementoes. The chances of people being fully reimbursed their material loses seem small, let alone compensated for their stress, disruption, trauma and time.
It would be a huge mistake, however, if the rest of society just goes blithely back to business. Not only are there neighbours who will need continuing support, there are policy lessons to be learned — ones that stand to help us better cope with these extreme weather events that appear to be linked to climate change.
For example, disaster relief plans should be more sophisticated. An army of volunteers materialized even before the real army was called in, but not all of the goodwill could be put to effective use. As was suggested by Eva Cohen of Western Quebec, Canada should emulate Germany’s system of having a corps of trained civil-protection volunteers who could be called out quickly and know what to do. And cities prone to flooding would be wise to take a page from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, which after having been hit by devastating floods in 2011 now maintains a huge stockpile of sandbags. (Contrast that with Pierrefonds, where large numbers of sandbags were reportedly destroyed prematurely.)
Better still would be to take whatever preventive measures are possible so that flooding of homes is avoided. Increase flood plain awareness and avoid permitting further constructions in high-risk zones. Investigate whether there is anywhere dredging would make sense. Perhaps there are places where permanent dikes should be built.
And, of course, it’s important to renew our commitment to meeting our greenhouse gas reduction goals nationally.
A “next time” seems inevitable. Make no mistake about it, extreme weather events will increasingly pose challenges.