Local Community Advertising
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante has declared a state of emergency due to rising flood waters.
Under the declaration, the city’s fire chief ha the authority to force evacuations and spend money without council approval.
Quebec is dealing with spring flooding alongside Ontario and New Brunswick. The Canadian Armed Forces have been called in to assist.
Plante said the situation in Quebec’s largest city is under control, but added the heavy rain in the forecast could change conditions rapidly.
Current and forecasted weather conditions imply that the situation will not be short-lived, but rather will likely last several days.
According to Environment Canada, 60 mm of rain will fall in the watershed by Saturday evening, which will cause a major rise in water levels, weaken retaining walls and dikes erected in key locations to stop water infiltration.
About 1,000 soldiers, sailors and aviators are helping New Brunswick and Quebec and Ontario with flood relief efforts. #OpLENTUS
— RCAF (@RCAF_ARC) April 26, 2019
When we work together, we’re #StrongAtHome. #RCAF pic.twitter.com/zmcnT7thes
As of 1 p.m. Friday, Quebec’s Public Security Department said 3,148 residences had been flooded in the province, 2,362 residences had been cut off due to rising waters and 1,110 people had been forced from their homes.
Provincial police had been patrolling an area of homes and cottages along the Rouge River, about 140 kilometres west of Montreal, where 75 people were forced out when a hydro dam was declared to be at risk of failing.
We know it’s stressful and flooding changes lives. We’re working with provincial authorities to help the best way possible.
— Canadian Armed Forces Operations (@CFOperations) April 26, 2019
Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, here’s how 1,600+ soldiers, sailors and aviators are there to help you. pic.twitter.com/4dUW3W2Qm2
The Canadian Forces were also dispatched to reinforce a dike in Pointe-Calumet, located northwest of the city, which was threatening to give way and force 1,000 people from their homes.
In Gatineau, Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin warned residents Friday to prepare for the worst. “By Monday or Tuesday, we should exceed the highest levels of 2017,” he said, adding it could stay that way for up to two weeks. “What we will live through in the coming weeks, we’ve never experienced.”
-With files from The Canadian Press
Local Community Advertising