Drummondville Faces the Aftermath of Devastating Floods
The city of Drummondville is waking up to a tough reality after severe flooding left many residents with extensive damage and financial strain. With 83 buildings officially reported as affected, residents are now facing a challenging cleanup process, many without insurance coverage to help them recover.
Take Katie St-Pierre, for instance, a teacher who lives alone near the Saint-François River. She had to take unpaid time off work to deal with the disaster. “It’s a lot of money and time,” she said, watching hired construction workers tear out water-damaged sections of her garage walls. The same heartbreaking scene played out across the neighborhood, where the river had overflowed the previous day due to rapid snowmelt, forcing the evacuation of 300 buildings.
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Erika Proulx, another affected resident, was seen emptying her entire flooded basement and garage into a dumpster. “When the force of nature pushed open our garage door, it was over. The water filled our house,” she recounted. Their refrigerator, freezer, tools, and even their snowblower were all lost to the flood. Living in a flood zone, they had no insurance coverage, and financial planning for such a disaster had never been on their radar. “It had never happened since we moved in back in 2014,” she added. “Now, we just take things one day at a time.”
Even former interim mayor Alain Carrier wasn’t spared. His grand yellow house became a striking image of the disaster, with aerial photos showing it engulfed by water. Carrier, who was in Florida at the time, rushed home and worked through the night to salvage what he could. “Inside, we had about 10 inches of water, but in the garage, it was 30 inches. A car is completely ruined, all the wooden flooring needs replacing, and the cabinets are damaged,” he explained. Despite his own losses, he is most concerned for those without financial security. To help, he plans to send his landscaping company’s employees to assist other residents in need.
Meanwhile, in the nearby town of Nicolet, flood-related issues persisted. The local water treatment facility was affected, forcing officials to issue a boil-water advisory until further notice. Emergency water supplies were quickly arranged from Bécancour, but the crisis underscored the fragility of local infrastructure in extreme weather conditions.
As the floodwaters recede, many Drummondville residents are left picking up the pieces of their lives. With financial losses mounting and no immediate assistance available for many, the road to recovery will be long. Questions about flood preparedness and municipal response are already being raised. Alain Carrier has openly criticized the city’s lack of proactive measures, emphasizing that better planning, including investments in ice-breaking equipment, could have mitigated the disaster.
The reality is harsh for those impacted. Homes have been damaged, possessions lost, and the emotional toll is immense. The people of Drummondville are resilient, but the events of this past week have highlighted the urgent need for better flood prevention strategies in the future.
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