"Acting for the community"

Introduction

We begin this new website’s section “Acting for the community” in response to a question about the state of citizen safety in Wentworth-Nord, in the event of an accidental or natural disaster. 

According to Équiterre, "In 2024 alone, extreme weather events cost $8.5 billion in damage. Yet we allow the same scenario to repeat itself year after year, with no plan to deal with it. ... Hundreds of thousands of people see their daily lives disrupted: homes destroyed, emergency evacuations, financial losses, psychological distress and health problems caused by these events. Each time, we see just how unprepared Canada is. ... We are therefore asking the federal government to come up with a clear plan, one that would protect Canadians who can no longer stand being flooded, caught up in disasters." 

Is Quebec more ready?

Of course, the municipality's public safety services have demonstrated their effectiveness on numerous occasions in recent years, and even more recently. What's more, they've just elevated fire protection to the status of Internal Guard.

But there have been disasters at Lake Saint-François-Xavier and elsewhere in the region that could not be avoided. If these services are stretched beyond reasonable and fair expectations, what are the risks that they, and the public, will be caught short in the event of another disaster of unforeseen proportions? “Acting for the community” doesn't have the answers to this question, only more interrogations, protocols and examples taken from elsewhere, which we feel justified in sharing with you.

According to the Quebec Government website , we are advised to rely on municipal authorities:
• To prepare for evacuation.
• What to do in case of evacuation.
• Services for evacuees.
• Returning home after an evacuation.

Although Wentworth-Nord's Fire Safety page contains helpful and useful information and that, in its prevention mandate, its services must: “Design, develop and implement fire prevention, public education and risk analysis programs”, Emergency Evacuation is not specifically addressed.

Friends

Anonymous survey

Next, phase 1: It won't happen to us

Note: The scenarios or recommendations contained in our presentation are not necessarily the responsibility of the relevant authorities.

Here, the question is addressed to two parties: the household and the municipality. It's also important to distinguish between being prepared and being ready.

You may have already drawn up a mental evacuation plan for your house or cottage, in the event of a fire. You've placed a fire escape ladder in one of your upstairs bedroom windows. The other upstairs windows look out onto the veranda roof, and you'd probably make do with them as emergency exits. You've connected a garden hose to a water supply, which you can use to extinguish a fire. You've cleared all flammable materials from the fireplace or wood-burning stove. You've set up a conifer-free zone around the house. In the event of an uncontrollable fire, you've even planned to evacuate the house, with the essentials recommended by Wentworth Nord Fire Department, if possible. You've prepared well.

But are you ready? Have you tested your scenarios? Are they adequate and up to date? Will your family be able to carry them out? When will you know it's time to evacuate? Will you know what to do and, above all, where to go? What happens if there's a power failure or, worse, no cell phone service? What's your plan B?

Is the municipality, on its own or as part of an intermunicipal collaboration, prepared and ready?

"In short: A municipality must be both prepared and ready. Preparedness lays the groundwork for an effective response, while readiness ensures that the municipality can act when an event occurs. For example, a municipality may be prepared with a comprehensive flood emergency plan, but it must be ready on flood day with sandbags, evacuation routes and emergency shelters."

In the vision of its prevention mandate, the Sécurité incendie de Wentworth-Nord Department, whose mission is to reduce the risk of fire and other disasters, plans to:
- “... carry out fire prevention, public education and risk analysis programs.”
- “ ... periodically inspect the risks present on the territory, through an appropriate inspection program. ”
- “ ... work towards the evolution of proven safety standards, ...”
- “ ... put in place appropriate measures to prevent recurrence of the same incidents.”
- “Promote fire prevention.”

These points are detailed on the municipality's website, with a few specific examples. But there's no mention of a major disaster. And it all seems to be part of a vision, in other words, projects. At what stage of development, if any, are these projects; and will this vision encompass the possibility of a natural or man-made disaster?

In our municipality of lakes, there are examples of plans, prevention or otherwise, led by their protection associations. In response to the question “What and where are the risks threatening the lake?”, the Lac Saint-François-Xavier association had initiated such an analysis. If the risk of disaster in Wentworth-Nord were perceived as real, shouldn't we have this kind of analysis? In this case, the municipality should certainly be able to count on the services of higher authorities to carry out such an operation, because the stakes are likely to extend beyond the municipal level.

In its Schéma de couverture de risques en sécurité incendie, the MRC des Pays-d'en-Haut is aligning itself with the recommendations of the Minister of Sécurité Publique, in his reform dating back some twenty years. Of the eight objectives, only one goes beyond building fire safety, and could therefore concern a forest fire, for example: “In the case of other disaster risks likely to require the use of resources allocated to fire safety, plan the organization of emergency services and provide for intervention methods that enable the deployment of an optimal strike force with regard to the resources available on a regional scale”. Has this objective been achieved by 2025?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version) & Linguee

Next, phase 3: Public safety
Back to Introduction and Survey

By Carl Chapdelaine

Public Safety Canada: "Disaster prevention and mitigation. - The fundamental objective of emergency preparedness is to save lives, preserve the environment and protect property and the economy. Risk management in emergency preparedness has four interdependent dimensions:
- Prevention and mitigation: Mitigation is a fundamental element of emergency management in Canada.
- Preparedness.
- Response.
- Recovery.

Disaster mitigation which aims to “eliminate or reduce the consequences and risks associated with hazards”, translates into “measures taken proactively in advance of an emergency disaster”. For example, the construction of the Red River Floodway may have protected the City of Winnipeg from flooding in the Red River basin. In Wentworth-Nord, beaver dams threatening to flood residential areas are being destroyed.

"Mitigation measures can be structural (e.g. flood dikes) or non-structural (e.g. development of land-use policies). Mitigation activities should include procedures to assess the evolving threat environment; they may include the development of comprehensive proactive tools to identify where funding will need to be applied and risk reduction measures taken." These include, among others:
- hazard mapping,
- zoning,
- building codes,
- public awareness programs,
- insurance programs.

We can see here that, for a municipality, several departments need to be involved in the evaluation and implementation of such measures: safety, urban planning, environment, finance, general management, etc. Faced with the threat of a forest fire on our territory, for example, could we not consider, following an aerial cartographic analysis and a field inventory, determining the sectors most at risk, particularly in the vicinity of residential areas? These areas would then be subject to specific monitoring, while building protection measures would be added to the exercise.

“Emergency management planning can save lives, preserve the environment and protect property by ensuring a better understanding of risks...”
Here again, the municipality must be able to count on the collaboration of higher authorities as well as that of its citizens: “The responsibility for comprehensive and integrated emergency management is shared by all levels of government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and citizens.” Emergency Management Planning Guide 2010-2011

One such public safety measure is the Québec Alert Ready system, which is, in fact, the provincial application of the “National Public Alerting System (NPAS), publicly known as Alert Ready, which warns the public of imminent or unfolding hazards through cell phones, television and radio ” . Everyone has probably received such messages while watching or listening to their favorite program. Couldn't Wentworth-Nord be inspired by the telephone message to a whole group of registered residents that the municipality of La Macaza can send them at the click of a button?

By Carl Chapdelaine

Consult: Les zones rouges du Québec

Next: phase 4: Evacuation

(Excerpts from documents consulted)

“The decision to evacuate communities is made by municipal and provincial authorities. The situation may change at a moments notice.” Evacuations But is Wentworth-Nord ready to offer the desired conditions? Is there anything in the municipality to explain, teach, and guide residents on what to do in the event of an evacuation, be it fire, a flood, extreme weather, etc.?

What to do (summary according to AI)
" An evacuation proceeds in three phases: before, during, and after the event. Before, you prepare by creating a plan, packing an emergency kit, and identifying shelter options. During the evacuation, you move to a safe location, following official warnings and designated routes. After the evacuation, you shelter, await the "all-clear" signal, and then return home only when authorities deem it safe."

To prepare for evacuation
Gather essential items for your family, in a backpack for example:
• medications, etc.;
• change of clothes;
• blankets;
• money, ID, keys;
• baby items;
• (flashlights);
• electronic devices and chargers;
• games.

What to do in case of evacuation
• When an evacuation order is issued, leave your home as soon as possible and follow the instructions given.
• Go to the location specified in your plan with your emergency kit.
• If recommended, be sure to turn off the water and electricity.
• Close the windows and lock the doors.
• Take your pets to safety or bring them with you, if permitted.
• Inform your loved ones and the municipality of where you plan to take refuge.
• Offer your help to people in need.
• Check road conditions (Québec 511).

Services for evacuees
"A disaster relief center is usually set up by the municipality. ... When you arrive at this center, register with the staff on site. " In Wentworth-Nord, we can assume that one of the three pavilions (former churches) will be designated as a shelter for the corresponding sector. However, they are not yet equipped, with generators among other things, to qualify as such. In the meantime, for the Montfort sector, shouldn't a shelter in Morin-Heights be designated as such?

Returning home after an evacuation
• Wait for authorization from the authorities before returning home.
• Check with your municipality to find out about the guidelines and measures in place for a safe return home.
• When you return home:
o Identify any damage and make an inventory, with supporting photos or videos.
o Find out what to do after an emergency.
o Check if you are eligible for government financial assistance.

By Carl Chapdelaine