Several municipalities were on the alert on Sunday in Greater Montreal, when heavy rains of up to 35 millimeters were forecast until Monday morning in the region. Environment Canada warns that flooding is possible, especially in the lowlands.
“Heavy rains can cause flash flooding and water accumulation on the roads. Flooding is possible in places in the lowlands,” the federal agency warned in a special bulletin at the start of the day.
According to current forecasts, a total of 25 to 35 millimeters of rain is expected over most areas of Greater Montreal until Monday morning. In the middle of the day, the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) counted a flood of medium order and 14 of minor order on Quebec territory. A little over a dozen hydrometric stations were then “on surveillance”.
In Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue in particular, barricades have also been set up to contain some minor flooding on the street. In Terrasse-Vaudreuil as well, certain sections of streets were flooded and the Lac des Deux Montagnes came out of its bed near Highway 20. In Montérégie, the city of Rigaud also reported flooding. In Rawdon, entire streets were also flooded.
The spokesperson for Civil Security at the MSP, Joshua Ménard-Suarez, is however reassuring. According to him, the “situation remains under control”, he mentioned in an interview.
The floods we are currently experiencing are mainly in recurring sectors, where there are floods year after year. Most of them are regular citizens. It’s nothing dramatic.
Joshua Ménard-Suarez, spokesperson for Civil Security at the MSP
Prevention first
A few days ago, the preventive distribution of sand dikes began in several areas of Montreal, including Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
On Sunday, the City of Montreal reiterated that it had “deployed the necessary resources to optimize the response in the event of an emergency”. “We are still in intervention mode and are monitoring the situation closely,” assured Mayor Valérie Plante on Twitter.
Environment Canada meteorologist Dominic Morin says the 25 to 35 millimeters of rainfall “will add to the vulnerabilities already present on the rivers.” “On the small rivers of the Ottawa watershed, this rain will eventually flow into the river, which could increase the water level in the coming days. We will have to be vigilant, ”continues Mr. Morin on this subject.
That said, “the rivers are capable of taking it right now,” recalls Mr. Ménard-Suarez. “We had a first peak of growth at the end of last week, but afterwards, the rivers have for the most part remained stable, which means that there is still space”, he explains. .
Quebec nevertheless monitors “very closely” the regions of Outaouais, Laurentides, Lanaudière and Montreal. “We are looking more particularly at the watershed of the Ottawa River, which is a little more fragile as we speak,” said the spokesperson for Civil Security.
Environment Canada advises people who are in vulnerable areas or who are isolated “to be prepared with at least an emergency kit in case of need”. If the situation is too risky, you must “leave your home” as quickly as possible, continue the federal authorities.
On Friday, the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) also invited residents of areas at risk of flooding and the stakeholders involved to visit its cruesgrandmontreal platform. ca, an “additional tool developed to help them better prepare and thus reduce their impacts”.
The organization asserts that its site makes it possible to know in real time “the water level on a property in the absence of protective work as well as the forecasts of submersion over a horizon of 72 hours”. “This information is available for any sector located along one of the main metropolitan waterways, namely the St. Lawrence River/Lake Saint-Louis; the Ottawa River/Lac des Deux Montagnes; as well as the Mille Îles, des Prairies, Richelieu, Saint-Jacques, L’Assomption and Châteauguay rivers,” the CMM said.