Some Quebec flood victims preparing to spend Christmas in hotel rooms

All Tauseef Bhatti wants for the holidays is a permit to rebuild his home.

The Montreal-area resident, his wife and their four children are one of several families who are still living in hotel rooms ever since flood waters swept through their home last spring.

More than six months after the floods, the family of six is living in two hotels rooms at a Holiday Inn as they wait for the provincial government to decide whether their home has sustained too much damage to repair.

"There's no privacy, it's very uncomfortable, no place to study," Bhatti, whose house is in Ile-Bizard, said in a phone interview. "Nothing is normal, everything is so crazy."

When the flooding began, the family was able to keep the water at bay with pumps at first, only to be overwhelmed by a second rush of water that came "like a tsunami out of nowhere" a few days later.

It surged so fast the family had to call 911 to be evacuated as water rushed up through the basement and across the first floor.

Now, he's still waiting to see if he'll be allowed to return home.

"The fact that we are seven months in this situation and still there is no clear answer of if or when we'll be able to get back to our homes, to rebuild our lives, that's the scariest part," he said.

Bhatti's family is one of several who are still living in hotels after the flood waters raced through 278 towns and forced some 4,000 people from their homes.

At the height of the crisis, more than 2,400 families received emergency assistance from the Red Cross in the form of hotel lodging, food and clothing, while 5,498 families received financial assistance.

A spokeman for the Red Cross said the organization was still providing assistance to 150 families, but could not confirm how many of those were receiving housing.

Eight per cent of 452 flood victims surveyed by the the provincial government in November reported they were still not back in their homes.

Itsik Romano, who helps to co-ordinate a group for flood victims, says life hasn't returned to normal for many flood victims, even for those who have been able to go back home.

"A lot of families are still not back at home, they don't know where to go next, with no funds to prepare their basements to be fixed," said Romano, who knows of about five or six families who are still living in hotels.

In September, Romano and other flood victims held a rally to protest the government's response to the spring floods.

Many said they hadn't received any financial assistance and were having trouble getting information on the status on their files.

In response, Quebec Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux announced a series of measures to speed up the process, including holding face-to-face meetings with affected residents.

Earlier this week, Coiteux announced long-term proposals, including the creation of an action plan that will look at flood maps, develop a more flexible assistance program and require every municipality to develop an emergency plan.

Romano said that while he received a cheque in October, he's still angry at the length of time it took.

"It could have been prevented, it could have been fixed already," he said.

He said the sole bright spot is the response from the community.

Some have organized to collect winter clothing for flood victims, while others have offered to help winterize each other's homes.

One Montreal-area resident, Kelly Keith, began a collection of Christmas decorations when she realized many of her neighbours had lost the decorations stored in their basements.

Since then, she's collected seven trees, boxes of ornaments, and "enough lights to light the Ile-Bizard Bridge," she wrote in a Facebook message.

But Bhatti, for one, says it's difficult to celebrate.

"We're trying, but when you're in this situation 24-7 it's hard to celebrate holidays or look on the bright side," he said.