CITY WASN’T PREPARED: REPORT
Outdated flood maps among problems
Outdated flood maps. Emergency vehicles sidelined because they had low floors. No inventory of city equipment and materials. Not enough inspectors to check flooded homes. A 911 system inundated with calls because the city help line went down for four hours.
A city report shows Montreal was ill-prepared for disaster in the spring of 2017, when the island suffered its worst flooding in 40 years. The document, obtained by the Montreal Gazette, is to be made public next week.
The 55-page report, by the Montreal fire department’s civilsecurity unit, reviewed the city’s response and includes recommendations on how to improve emergency readiness.
The flooding began in early May when the previous winter’s heavier-than-usual snowfall started melting due to warm weather and heavy rain, raising water levels around Montreal and other parts of Quebec.
Then-mayor Denis Coderre declared a state of emergency on May 7, the same day 300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces arrived to help with flood relief. Over several days, more than 430 homes were evacuated in boroughs and suburbs on Montreal Island’s north shore, along the Rivière des Prairies. The report says: Montreal Island municipalities spent about $8 million dealing with the emergency.
The Montreal region has no flood map for the Rivière-des-Prairies. Instead, it relies on one created by a provincial department based on “outdated” technical documents created in 1978. The report recommends updating flood maps with newer information, including data gathered during recent flooding. It also suggests the city should “consider the degree of uncertainty associated with climate change, which influences the probability of flooding.”
Some areas where flooding is expected every zero to 20 years were not flooded during the spring of 2017, while some areas prone to flooding only every 20 to 100 years were flooded.
Some of the inundated 20-to100-year flood zones were home to sensitive infrastructure, including health institutions that had to be evacuated, as well as a fire station, a police station and a public works yard, all of which had to be closed.
Some emergency vehicles proved useless during the crisis. “Police and ambulance vehicles quickly became unusable in some sectors since they were too low for the water levels. Consequently, they could not ensure adequate service coverage for certain sectors. The need for high boots and waterproof pants for field workers was also quickly recognized.”’
Many items had to be purchased during the flooding by various city departments but “some difficulties were encountered when specific equipment was required for outside vendor hours. Following the floods, it is now possible to create a list of potential suppliers for each type of equipment that can be used during a future disaster. In addition, it will also be helpful to produce a register of equipment and materials available to the city so that it can be quickly mobilized when needed.”
Many Montrealers had trouble reaching the city’s 311 help line during the flooding, resulting in a deluge of calls to 911. At the peak of the flooding, on May 7, the 311 line went dead for four hours. The report recommends boosting 311 so it’s ready in case of another emergency.
As homeowners and business owners prepared to return to their buildings after the flooding, “the number of city inspectors available was insufficient for the number of inspections to be carried out.”
Mayor Valérie Plante’s office said the city will work to improve the city’s readiness, particularly when it comes to communicating with the public.
The snafu that shut down 311 “shows we must not only learn from this situation but we must also put in place measures to better face a future event of this magnitude,” a source in Plante’s office said.
“Severe climate phenomena will happen more frequently in the future and that will create extra pressure on our human and financial resources.”