A university study that involves Septiliens will result in recommendations that will allow municipalities, MRCs and citizens to be better prepared during forest fires causing evacuations. HEC Montréal researchers ultimately aim to equip those responsible for emergency measures in their role of coordinating the orderly departure of several citizens at the same time.
The principal investigator had planned the study before last year’s exceptional fire year. The project to document evacuations dates back to 2020. Joëlle Cormier is mainly interested in human behavior. It will welcome without judgment all comments from citizens of Plages à Sept-Îles, Moisie and Maliotenam who experienced the evacuation of June 2, 2023.
The Quebec experience
“We now have the opportunity to understand how things are happening in Quebec, in addition to learning about what is happening in the United States and Western Canada,” she says.
The HEC Montréal team of researchers is carrying out separate surveys among citizens of the Sept-Îles region, Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon. The online survey for the North Shore is accessible on the Ville de Sept-Îles website.
The three environments surveyed can provide valuable contributions based on the different realities experienced last summer, according to lead researcher Joëlle Cormier. The evacuation was announced at the end of the day in Abitibi, while the notice was issued in the morning on the North Shore last summer, which had advantages and disadvantages, we believe.
