Hurricane Irma: “We are going to reach our world,” said Philippe Couillard

Photo Carl Vaillancourt
The prime minister Philippe Couillard said he is concerned about the fate of the Quebec victims of hurricane Irma, during his press conference in Saint-Hyacinthe, Sunday.

Carl Vaillancourt

Sunday, 10 September, 2017 13:50

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Sunday, 10 September, 2017 13:51

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SAINT-HYACINTHE | victims in quebec of the hurricane Irma will get help as soon as weather conditions permit, announced by the prime minister Philippe Couillard Sunday.

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“As soon as the conditions for landing in Florida or in the Caribbean permit, we are going to reach our world”, said prime minister of Quebec, which is in contact with the office of Justin Trudeau.

Since last Tuesday, the hurricane Irma has raged in the Caribbean to Florida. Many canadians are still being held hostage and without a solution at the present time, as hurricane Juan, a category 4 storm, hit the region in the next few hours.

The prime minister has, however, put a caveat to his statement. “You have to realize that the landing conditions, the climatic conditions are very harsh,” he recalled, referring to the destruction that Irma has left in its wake.

“I’d like to tell you that we are going to go all look for today. If it was a member of my family, this is what I would like, ” said Mr. Couillard. It is not necessary to lower the arms in front of the complications. You must take care of people.”

“A number has been put in place to allow victims to report their situation to the government. The greatest number of people is probably in Florida, but there are also people in Cuba and in other Caribbean islands”, said the prime minister, stating that it is very difficult to know how many nationals are in the areas affected by the hurricane.

Quebec wounded repatriated from Saint-Martin

For his part, the minister of international Relations and Francophonie, Christine St-Pierre, has told that five Canadians, including Quebec, have been evacuated urgently by the federal government.

The Quebec survivor, an intern with the Office québécois de la jeunesse, was located at Saint-Martin during the passage of the storm. She was repatriated to Quebec after stops at Puerto Rico and Panama. “She arrived yesterday [Saturday] evening. She was transported by ambulance to the hospital because she had a problem of concussion. Currently, she is in safety,” said Ms. St-Pierre.

The prime minister has also indicated that the Quebec expected a call to send teams of Hydro-Québec reinforcement in the countries affected.

– With the collaboration of the QMI Agency