Gales in the Gulf – Great Storms that Pummelled the Community

Has there ever been a recorded case of homes and properties in Metis being damaged by storms or storm surges? The question was raised by citizens at meetings in 2018 when the provincial and regional governments announced new rules for setbacks for coastal construction after storms had damaged nearby coastlines.

Those who lived through les grandes marées (the high tides) of December 6, 2010 remember the frightening effect of not knowing whether the winds and waves and the rising sea would flood their homes or damage their properties.

The historical record is not too rich, because news from Metis did not make its way into newspapers much before the 1820s. A major storm was recorded in November 1884,  causing damage from Quebec City to Matane, the death of several residents in Kamouraska, the destruction of wharves and sinking of several vessels. In Notre-Dame-de-Portage, three houses were swept away and the year’s potato crop floated out to sea.

In Metis, the Montreal Gazette reported “no serious damage here, principally fences, bathing houses and boats.” Le Journal de Québec suggested that the damage was much more extensive. The truth is probably somewhere in between. A testimonial by Marie-Augustine Larivée-Gauvreau confirms how frightening the storm was for those living through it in Baie-des-Sables. The trauma she endured as an 8-year-old girl still made her shake with fright at age 90.

Metis was similarly spared in 1949 when a December storm caused extensive damage to shoreline homes in Baie-des-Sables. Good luck or good geography? During the high tides and occasional storms in November and December, coastal residents remain on high alert.