Global Courant 2023-05-02 18:04:45
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and several cities have declared a state of emergency after torrential rains raised river levels and led to widespread flooding in Quebec.
A state of emergency was declared on Tuesday after flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the municipalities of Baie-Saint-Paul, Saint-Côme and Sainte-Émélie-de-l’Énergie.
Environment Climate Change Canada (ECCC) recorded about 56 millimeters of rain in Baie-Saint-Paul on Monday.
Wind gusts of more than 100 km/h were also recorded in Cap-Rouge, Saguenay and Île d’Orléans.
Baie Saint Paul
More than 500 people have had to leave their homes in Baie-Saint-Paul, Que., after the level of the Gouffre River, which flows through the city, peaked Monday.
Chloé Gosselin, who lives near the river, didn’t get much sleep last night. Looking down into the basement of her home in Baie-Saint-Paul, Que., 100 kilometers northeast of Quebec City, her mattress floated in muddy water alongside papers and drawings.
“I actually had everything there. That was my bedroom, my son’s bedroom, my second sitting room. I had all my valuables, all my papers,” said Gosselin.
She said her house has been flooded twice since she moved in 12 years ago, but the previous floods were nothing like this one.
The floodwaters washed away roads and carried debris, including several campers, which were filmed on social media as they slammed into bridges near the city, an hour’s drive northeast of Quebec City.
RV swept away by fast-flowing river against bridge in Quebec
As torrential rain swelled rivers in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, a cell phone video captured how a recreational vehicle in Baie-Saint-Paul, Que., drifted over a rushing river and collided with a bridge.
In Saint-Urbain, north of Baie-Saint-Paul, the search continued for two firefighters who were swept away by the waves of a swollen river on Monday while helping two residents trapped in the raging waters. A command post has been set up to coordinate the search for the volunteer firefighters.
Baie-Saint-Paul city officials said in a statement Tuesday that beds were available for shelter in the city and at a nearby camp for the 584 residents displaced by the floods.
More than 1,000 Hydro-Québec customers are without power in the area.
The flood affected the city’s drinking water supply, but the situation has largely recovered, except for fewer than 10 homes still without drinking water, city officials said.
Nevertheless, a preventive five-minute boil advisory has been issued and will remain in effect for the residents of Baie-Saint-Paul for the coming Tuesday and Wednesday.
Heavy rainfall leads to severe flooding in the Baie-Saint-Paul area in Quebec’s Charlevoix region, northeast of Quebec City. (Radio Canada)
“For evacuated residents, we ask that you do not return to your residences until we have given you permission,” the city’s statement said.
Public Security Minister François Bonnardel is expected to travel to Baie-Saint-Paul on Tuesday with Charlevoix MNA Kariane Bourassa and Jonatan Julien, the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region.
Saint-Come
Saint-Côme mayor Martin Bordeleau said Tuesday morning that the water level of the Assomption River has dropped by a foot since the flooding.
“Yesterday we were more in survival mode, closing all roads and trying to keep things from getting worse. But today our teams on the ground are in fix and repair mode,” he said on Radio-Canada’s Tout. un mate.
ECCC rain warnings remain in effect for Charlevoix, Saguenay and Côte-Nord, but Bordeleu says he believes the worst is behind his commune.
About a dozen people in Saint-Côme have yet to return to their homes after yesterday’s evacuations, he said.
Flooding in Rawdon ‘stabilized’, mayor says
Rawdon Mayor Raymond Rougeau said the situation in his town has stabilized after two roads – Vincent-Massey and Lac-Morgan – were flooded.
“It’s been chaotic. I had my phone on all night just in case something came up,” he said on CBC Montreal’s Daybreak.
Rougeau said he will closely monitor water levels in the coming days to determine if additional measures are needed.
ECC predicts 30 to 50 millimeters of rain in the Lanaudière region until Wednesday, with a chance of thunderstorms.
“We’ll see if that complicates things again, but our services are on the ground,” he said.
