Gatineau flooding could be worse than in 2017, mayor warns

More than 1,800 homes and 4,000 people in Gatineau could be affected by the water levels that are forecasted to reach far above the peaks of the 2017 flood that devastated the area.

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Already, 726 people have officially asked the western Quebec city for help due to flooding, Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin told reporters Friday morning.

A number of roads across Gatineau are expected to be closed in coming days, he said.

Could be worse than 2017

The mayor said the flooding is expected to affect the same area that experienced flooding in 2017 — it won't touch a wider swath of land — but "those within the area will be affected worse" than two years ago.

"The following weeks will be long and difficult," Pedneaud-Jobin said.

Officials are now expecting water levels to peak on Monday or Tuesday, and stay elevated levels for as long as two weeks. 

"That's a lot longer than last time … the decrease will be slower," Pedneaud-Jobin said. "It means people are out of their homes for longer."

On the other hand, weather forecasting is "not an exact science," so the flooding may not be as dire as currently predicted, with more than 35 mm expected to fall Friday and Saturday. As well, the city and residents are better prepared to deal with the flood this time around.

"That doesn't mean that its not difficult for citizens on the ground," he said. "Some people will lose a lot — some are pretty devastated by what they are going through."

The city has set up a victim assistance stations at Centre communautaire Jean-René-Monette and Masson-Angers service centre.

Mayor stops short of declaring emergency

While Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency for the capital on Thursday, Pedneaud-Jobin told reporters it wasn't necessary in Gatineau because mayors have different powers in the two provinces.

For example, the Gatineau mayor is able to approve emergency purchases without going through the usual city procurement rules — indeed, Pedneaud-Jobin has already approved $1 million in spending — while in Ottawa, a declaration of an emergency is needed to suspend those rules.

The military arrived in Gatineau on Saturday after three nearby communities declared their own states of emergency.

Leave your home if told: mayor

The Gatineau mayor would declare a state of emergency in the event of forced evacuation measures, he said.

Pedneaud-Jobin implored residents to follow the advice of firefighters who are inspecting affected homes for safety.

"That's my No. 1 advice: listen to the fire department when they ask you to leave," he said.

If people refuse to leave when told, the city will have to "take appropriate measures," but the mayor said he doesn't anticipate that will be necessary as most residents complied with firefighters' advice in 2017.