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Spring floods: West Island community steps up to protect neighbours

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Phase one of the spring flood response in Pierrefonds-Roxboro finished on Saturday after dozens of volunteers stepped up to help their neighbours.

The city delivered one pallet of sandbags to 60 addresses in the northwestern borough this week, said Benoit Langevin, the city councillor responsible for coordinating the volunteer effort.

But it's up to citizens to install the sandbags, posing a problem for many seniors and others in the community. Each pallet has 50 sandbags. Each bag weighs nearly 70 pounds, said Langevin.

Langevin says about 60 volunteers have been on the ground since Wednesday, knocking on doors and building dikes.

That effort includes about six people staying at Ricochet Centre, a homeless shelter in the community.

"We always talk negatively about shelters, yet here's an example of how it can be a great thing to have a shelter in our community," said Langevin, who co-founded the shelter.

The councillor says he is now preparing for phase two of the flood response plan and will need more volunteers.

Volunteers installed sandbags around homes at risk of flooding in Pierrefonds-Roxboro on April 22, 2023. (Source: Chahi Tarakjian)

Between 10 and 20 mm of rain is expected to fall in Montreal Sunday night.

Langevin is urging people to contact him directly at benoit.langevin@montreal.ca. Those who reach out will be added to a contact list and called upon if needed.

While some volunteers mobilize through Facebook groups, Langevin says having a database of volunteers in one centralized place is more efficient.

He said incorrect information, such as where sandbags were available, spread online and created confusion in 2019. He's urging Facebook groups to validate information before putting it online.

Eric Jacob, a first responder and volunteer, praised this year's prevention efforts, saying volunteers have learned from past floods like 2019.

"We are way more under control. We have much experience," he said.

While his home is not at risk, Jacob says it was important for him to help out.

"Our citizens need it. We all have to live together. If no one comes together, a lot of destruction will happen."

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