Emergency measures

Prepare a personal emergency plan that will save time and reduce stress in an emergency.

Important considerations:

• Contact info in case of emergency
• Emergency exits for each room
• Places to meet up in the event of evacuation
• A route to leave your home and go to a safe place
• A place to house your pets
• Health and insurance information

For more information, consult the Government of Canada's Emergency Preparedness Guide.

In the event of a local disaster, the authorities advise being ready to survive the first 72 hours, since rescue teams may take some time to come to your assistance. In such an emergency, you will need some essential items. You may need to get by without power and running water.

You probably possess some of the necessary items, such as a flashlight, first aid kit and candles, but would you be able to find them in the dark?

The important thing is to store your materials to find them quickly.

Your 72-hour kit should be transported easily. Keep it in a backpack or suitcase with wheels in an easily accessible location and make sure all members of your family know where to find it.

Some essential items for the kit:

• Drinking water

• Non-perishable food

• Manual can-opener

• Flashlight with spare batteries

• First aid kit

• Personal hygiene articles

• Important family documents (passports, copy of birth certificates, etc.)

• Copy of your emergency plan

The Get Prepared website suggests a list of items to include in your 72-hour kit.

An emergency preparedness kit for your vehicle can also be very useful.

Recommended items for the kit:

• Water

• Non-perishable food

• Blanket

• Flash light

• Road map

• Windscreen washer

• Jumper cables

• Shovel and scraper

• Defroster

Check out the complete lists of emergency kits for your home and vehicle prepared by the Red Cross, and assemble yours right now.

In the event of an emergency in Vaudreuil-Dorion, the City quickly communicates with citizens via a call dispatcher. It's important to subscribe to the emergency list and make sure your contact information is up to date. When moving, remember to change your address, as calls may be sent to specific sectors, depending on the type of emergency.

How to register?

• Online 
• By email at somum@ville.vaudreuil-dorion.qc.ca
• By phone at 450-455-3371

In addition to the call broadcaster, in the event of an emergency, the City uses various tools to share important information, including :

• its website;
• its Facebook page;
• the citizen portal;
• electronic boards.

On August 9, 2024, storm Debby hit the Vaudreuil-Dorion area, affecting several homes.

The event in brief:

• 219 mm of rain over a 20-hour period
• 2,450 homes affected by torrential rains (21% of the city)
• More than 4,000 911 calls received during the peak period (35 calls per second)
• 2,700 homes affected by power outages
• Several impassable streets, one collapsed street and one landslide
• Mobilization of the Organisation municipale de sécurité civile: assessment of the city's infrastructures, setting up of an emergency telephone line, preparation of services to citizens and deployment of the Incendie mission on the territory to rescue people and secure buildings.
• Mobilization of some 100 City employees during the flooding period on August 9 and over the weekend to set up safety measures and collect debris.
• 500 interventions by Fire Department personnel (securing residences, avoiding fire hazards, cutting off power supply)
• Debris collection: around 3,000 tonnes over a one-month period
• Cost to the City of debris collection, transportation and disposal: approximately one million dollars
• Free renovation permits for basements following August 9: 552 permits requested as of October 18

Make sure your plumbing installations comply with building standards: sump pump, non-return valve, etc. If in doubt, call in a plumber. Check that downspouts discharge water at a sufficient distance from the house's foundations so that it flows in the opposite direction. Have an extra pump on hand to help evacuate water in the event of a back-up in your basement.

Towards compliance of protective equipment

On October 1, 2024, some twenty City of Vaudreuil-Dorion staff members met with a professional from a firm specializing in water resource management, to take part in a training session on how to carry out compliance inspections of backflow protection equipment, all adapted to municipal regulations. The aim is to develop the expertise of municipal employees to help citizens protect their homes from the consequences of extreme weather events such as the torrential rains of August 9.

To this end, we remind you that a permit (free of charge) is required for all basement work following these floods, so that inspectors can ensure that the work complies with regulations and avoids potential health problems (mold) or building safety issues (risk of fire or a new back-up).

Citizen presentation: Flooding and sewer backups: how to better protect your home

On November 21, the Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion held a special presentation on the flooding and sewer backups that occurred on August 9, 2024, following the rains associated with Hurricane Debby. The purpose of this citizens' meeting was to inform the public about the causes of the August 9 events, explain the mechanisms of sewer backup and surface flooding, and provide technical information on protective measures for residences. Several key topics were addressed, including:

• The definition of network types in Vaudreuil-Dorion;
• Plumbing code sections for protecting residences against backflow;
• The distinction between main and secondary lines;
• Different types of valves and their effectiveness;
• The BNQ standard for pressure-resistant valves;
• Pumping equipment;
• Anomalies found during previous inspections.

To watch this presentation again: YOUTUBE VIDEO