Quebec is losing ground: the water swallows up his dream of youth

News 16 December, 2017
  • Photo courtesy
    Jean-François Morin, was on a trip when his neighbor made him achieve this
    photo of his land so that he can see the damage suffered by his residence.

    Emy-Jane Déry

    Saturday, 16 December, 2017 01:00

    UPDATE
    Saturday, 16 December, 2017 01:00

    Look at this article

    SEPT-ÎLES | The water has swallowed the youth dream of a North-Coastal, which has seen the force of the sea twirling the concrete sidewalk of his house as if it were a construction of straw.

    Jean-François Morin, has bought a house at the edge of the water in Sept-Îles, in 2009. The native of the North Shore had grown up thinking that one day he would live at the edge of the vastness of the gulf, where the water is salty at this height.

    But since the storm tore off part of his land and made his home unusable, it no longer wants to know anything about it.

    “For me, it is finished, the edges of the water. I’ve had my dose and in the end, it isn’t worth it “, he said.

    High tides

    He was travelling to Brazil when the mégatempête of December 30, 2016 hit. The high tides combined with winds of over 90 km/h have caused a potent cocktail in the region.

    The father of Jean-François Morin, has forwarded photos and videos to advise them of the situation.

    “I was completely devastated, I couldn’t believe to see so much damage,” he said.

    Never any problem of flooding in his residence had been reported. On this day, the waves came to lick his door window and he has lost 50 feet of land.

    “I had a big concrete curb, and the sea has picked up. It was broken in two. We saw on the video the sea make it move, it is so heavy that. It was incredible, the power of the water, it is unimaginable, ” he said.

    His neighbor was enroché to protect them from erosion. However, for Jean-François Morin, the facility has had completely the opposite effect.

    “When the wave came to spanking, she is moved to the side of his rip-rap, and she has picked up almost half of my land “, he said.

    House destroyed

    In the wake of the storm, the public Security inspectors have said that the house was threatened by ” imminent danger “. He can no longer live there.

    “It was a house at the edge of the water or nothing for me. There was no in-between. I didn’t have the taste I leave in the wood “, he said.

    For the moment, Mr. Morin did not return to live in Quebec. He decided to continue travelling.

    His house will be destroyed in June. Jean-François Morin will look at the mechanical shovel at work.

    “It is, of course, I’ll be there. I’ll break your heart, but it is like that, there’s not much I can do, ” he said.