25 years ago, only one house survived the flood in the Bassin district of Chicoutimi, above the river of the same name, thanks to the fact that the foundation had been solidified.
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The district was submerged and all the houses were washed away by the strong current of the waters. The little white house is the only one to have survived and has become the symbol of the resilience of the people of Saguenay.
The house has since been turned into a museum. Guy Genest was brought up in this house.
“We were 8 children, with the parents we were 10. Upstairs, there were 4 bedrooms. There were about two per room, ”he notes.
It is thanks to the work done by Mr. Genest’s father that the house withstood the flood.
His father decided to raise it after a first flood in the 1940s. Without knowing it, he was solidifying the structure that made the house survive.
“He made holes in the granite of about 15 inches, and he put steel rods connected to the new foundation he was making out of cement,” explains Mr. Genest. “The house was well anchored with cement and granite, that’s what held up.”
When the incident happened, Mr. Genest’s parents were told to take some personal effects and evacuate the property.
Our journalist Michel Jean had met Mr. Genest’s mother at the time. The latter was in pain because she had just installed flower boxes next to the windows, and she was afraid they would be lost. However, they withstood the flood, and Mr. Jean came to bring him his bins after the event.
“She was proud that her flowers withstood the flood,” says Mr. Genest.
Guy Genest had the idea of creating a museum in his childhood home with his wife and son Sylvain. It is the latter who is now in charge of the museum.
Mr. Genest is happy that people come from all over the world to view the house.
“I’m proud people understand what the White House was like before, during and after the Flood,” says Genest. “It is the only one that has remained standing and it is well preserved.”
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