Following last Sunday’s torrential rains, which caused extensive flooding and infrastructure damage, some citizens are questioning the municipality’s ability to respond quickly to this type of disaster.
North Hatley is a small village of around 675 people located in a valley between the mountain, the river and the lake. Rainfall often puts the village’s pipes and culverts to the test. Since I’ve been living here, I’ve seen more and more overflows in the streets. It worries me. As a matter of fact, last Sunday we thought the water was going to reach our house. We panicked! Fortunately, the rains stopped just in time. But it’s only a temporary setback.
It made us wonder. What do you do in such a situation? Who do we call? What equipment do we have? What municipal manpower is available 24-7?
By the way, here are the coordinates for 24/7 civil security emergencies in North Hatley: 1 866 776-8345 (toll-free). Fortunately, the number is toll-free! Unfortunately, several residents told me they had called and received no answer. No doubt the municipality was overwhelmed managing the many emergencies in the field. And that’s understandable!
Référence : https://www.northhatley.org/en/municipality/public-security/
We have to ask ourselves. Do we have an emergency plan? Do we have elected officials and citizens ready to mobilize in an emergency? I can confirm that many of the citizens I met are ready to help out at any time. They just need a plan to organize themselves effectively.
Let’s not bury our heads in the sand: Mother Nature is increasingly surprising. We’ll continue to see major temperature variations causing disasters. Last Sunday, culverts jammed, causing a change in the flow of water, leading to road subsidence and flooding in village streets. Cars continued to circulate, causing water to flow towards homes and businesses.
As a municipality, were we prepared for this situation? From what I’ve heard from several citizens, it was chaos. It was neighbors who rallied to lend a hand. I’d like to congratulate them. Solidarity is essential.
However, it is also the role of the municipality to act as a leader in times of disaster. We have to be ready. To do this, we need an emergency plan that is known and recognized by the entire population. It’s essential to ensure that everyone’s roles and responsibilities are clear.
Many citizens are already ready to give their names and skills to the service of the municipality. In fact, many citizens have the expertise and even the machinery to complement the municipality’s workforce and equipment.
However, we need an organization capable of mobilizing, grouping and organizing our people. This is where the role of the municipality and our elected representatives comes into its own. Forgive me for using the wacky expression “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. Basically, it’s in adversity that leadership shines through.
This is even truer in North Hatley. Municipal employees, elected officials and citizens must be ready to mobilize and collaborate in the event of a disaster. To succeed, we need a plan and leadership.
There’s no lack of interest, leadership or solidarity among our village residents. Many people are already working behind the scenes to help their neighbors. All that remains is to bring these people together and direct them in case of emergency.
So here are my questions for you:
- Do we have an emergency plan that the public knows about?
- Have we already thought about setting up an inter-citizen communication service?
- Are our citizens, elected representatives and road crews ready to deal with this kind of situation?
In general, are we prepared to deal with a disaster in North Hatley?
