Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac flood victims furious in the face of uncertain future

A month after a dike breach caused disastrous flooding in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que., thousands of victims are still facing a long list of uncertainties.

At the top of that list is not knowing when or how they will be compensated for their losses.

And there's still the looming possibility that their neighbourhood will be designated a flood zone.

That uncertainty has roiled into anger — anger that boiled over last night during a jam-packed town meeting held in a local church.

Enraged residents kicked off the meeting by yelling and even hurling insults at Mayor Sonia Paulus, who vowed to fight for citizens' interests and oppose the flood-zone designation.

Such a designation would devalue already damaged homes. The Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal will look into the matter and vote on it June 20.

Frustrated residents travel to Quebec City

A group of Sainte-Marthe residents met with Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault Wednesday in Quebec City to voice their concerns.

They say the $200,000 the government is offering to buy out the homes of those living in flood-prone areas is not enough for them to purchase homes elsewhere while paying off their mortgages.

Despite being close to the water, they were told they were not in a flood zone because of the dike, which was built about 40 years ago.

That dike breached last month, forcing the evacuation of some 6,000 people. About 2,500 homes were damaged in the subsequent flooding.

"There's no escape for us. It's our home," said 14-year-old Mickaëlla Hardy after the meeting.

"My parents wouldn't have risked buying a house in a flood zone."

The residents point to New Jersey as an example, where families were offered the pre-Hurricane Sandy value of their homes to move. They said Guilbault seemed sympathetic to their concerns.

Plans to rebuild, but some would rather leave

The mayor told residents she plans to rebuild the dike and start again, but some, like Mélanie Brière, are still worried.

"On the ground, what we hear is that people want to leave," she told Radio-Canada.

"We are a little worried about that. We do not feel that there is support from the mayor, from the city, from the government. What will happen to those who want to leave?"

The dike was inspected after severe flooding hit the province in 2017, and the government was planning on making repairs this fall.

"Maybe the time has come to give back to the lake some of what it has lost while we relocate elsewhere," said resident Francis Labbé.

At the start of May, about 500 residents decided to launch a class-action lawsuit against the Quebec government  over the dike's failure.