Residents in flood-prone communities near Montreal are on high alert as they continue to brace for the worst as rain is predicted for this weekend.
Residents in flood-prone communities near Montreal are on high alert as they continue to brace for the worst as rain is predicted for this weekend. Phil Carpenter reports that volunteers are the difference-maker in one neighborhood.
Mohamed Lamine, a resident of Pierrefonds-Roxboro who lived only a few meters from the Rivière des Prairies and recalled how his home flooded in 2019, expressed his fear.
The West Island municipality again depends on an army of volunteers to prepare since residents there learned after the flood that year and another in 2017 that they need one another.
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They have primarily used sandbags to build dikes so far. The city's Councillor, Benoit Langevin, elucidated that they had 64 addresses to which they delivered sandbags. The addresses were mainly elders and people who could not lift 60 bags of 66 pounds.
Resident Cameron Stoute, who also volunteered during the 2017 and 2019 floods, stated, "We support residents in any way we can, even if it's just by being a listening ear or by giving them whatever they need right now."
He continued by saying that the group also serves to comfort locals. According to city officials, they are prepared for any scenario. Citizens shouldn't let their guard down even if things don't turn out as horribly as they did during the previous two significant floods.
According to Langevin, "many factors are at play," including "rain or a lot of snow melt in another area that produces a lot of water." He pleads with people to maintain flood protection measures until at least mid-May.
However, to be cautious, he advises keeping flood protection measures in place at least through mid-May. The borough will also keep expanding its volunteer pool in case situations worsen.