Devastating flood in Quebec's Saguenay region remembered on 20th anniversary

In the first half of July 1996, it rained almost every day in Quebec'sSaguenay region. Rivers and lakes were practicallyfull to the brim.

Then came July 19.

The rain that fell that day was expected to be significant, but forecastersnever predicted what would happen next.

• From the archives: Saguenay flood is the worst in Canadian history, at the time

Over the course of three days, communities in the Saguenay were hit with between 100 and 275 millimetres of rain. There were landslides, then roads started to flood. Some were completelywashed away, as were people'shomes.

The flooding would lead to 10 deaths, the destruction of 800 homes, the displacement of nearly 16,000 people and $300 million in damage.

A knock at the door in the night

For one resident of the former town of La Baie, the memories of thatcatastrophic flood are all too vivid20 years later.

On July 19, 1996, Gerard Blackburn heard someone knocking at his door in the middle of the night.

His wife told him not to go to the door, thinking it may be robbers.

"I said no, robbers don't knock," he said.

When he opened his door, there were police and firefighters on the other side. They told him he had toget outimmediately.

His family left with nothing. The next day, he received a phone call his house had beentorn from its foundation and sentbarreling down the Rivire Mars.

His two kids' baby albums and even his wife Nicole's wedding ring were lost.

"You almost fall to the ground. You say to yourself, 'What am I going to do?'" he said.

Coping with the Saguenay flood's aftermath

28 years ago

Duration 2:22

Nine days after the flood, while people deal with the disaster's realities, Canadians raise record amounts of aid.

What came next

Months after the flood, a commission led by civil engineer Roger Nicolet looked into itscauses.

It found that most of the flood region's dams and dikes were built in the 1960s or earlier and did not meet standards.

The Nicolet Commission made a number of recommendations, including adopting a law on dam security, forcing all municipalities to have emergency plans andidentifying flood zones.

As for the Blackburns, it took themabout 10 years to get re-established they now live in Jonquire, far from the river that upended their lives.

"It's weird sometimes," Gerard Blackburn said.

"You look for things and you realize 'Oh right. I had that in La Baie, but now it's gone."