Landslide

Every year in Québec, municipal authorities receive dozens of reports of landslides and ground movement. Landslides occur most often in spring and fall, in clayey soils (clay) and along streams. Their frequency can increase during extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall. 

They may be caused by the following factors:   

• Erosion at the bottom of embankments (slopes)
• Heavy and prolonged rain
• Rapid snowmelt
• Slope angles
• Certain soil properties (e.g., clayey, sandy)
• Backfilling, excavation, drainage or tree removal 

Be ready to respond quickly by having an updated household emergency plan and an emergency kit for home. 

Learn about the risk of landslides in your area on the landslide hazard map (in French only).

Contact your municipality if your home is in a high-risk area before undertaking work that could increase ground instability, including the following:

• Backfilling (to bring a mass of material and compact it to create an elevation, level a ground, fill a cavity)
• Putting in an above-ground pool
• Storing materials near the top of a slope
• Undercutting an embankment (excavation of land to level a yard or expand a courtyard)
• Digging out the bottom of an embankment to put in a shed or an in-ground pool
• Allowing water to drain at the top of a slope or onto an embankment, for example, to drain a pool or aim a roof downspout

Report anything suspicious that happens on your lot to municipal authorities—things like cracking or bulging on a slope, slumping, or unusual water seepage from a slope.

Be ready to respond quickly by having an updated household emergency plan and an emergency kit for home. 

If you’re indoors  

• Go to the end of your home opposite the approaching landslide and crouch down under a solid piece of furniture.
• Find something solidly attached and hold on to it firmly until all movement stops.

If you’re outdoors  

• Get out of the path of the landslide right away. Stay clear of the banks of streams, trees, power lines and power poles.
• Don’t go near slide area. The ground may still be unstable.

If you’re driving    

• Watch out for collapsed pavement and other signs of possible road damage from sliding mud, rocks or other debris.   

Stay away from the landslide area until the authorities say it’s safe.  Stay away as well from damaged public utilities like gas lines and electrical infrastructure.