The storm hit the outskirts of Montreal on Friday afternoon: the cities of Joliette and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu were the most affected.
In total, between 100 and 120 millimeters of rain fell on Joliette, including 63 millimeters in just one hour. The Galeries Joliette have announced their exceptional closure due to the weather. “There are vehicles immobilized because of the rain in the region,” confirms Camille Savoie, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec. The towns where cars got stuck in the water are Saint-Paul, Crabtree and Notre-Dame-des-Prairies.
Several water infiltrations have also occurred in houses in the region, confirms the city of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies on its Facebook account. “Our teams are working on the ground to manage the problems caused by the situation. Note that some local streets are currently restricted. »
Many photos of the heavy rainfall are circulating on social media. Some citizens have even decided to take out their kayak or paddle board to cruise the streets.
“When you’re in a city, the sewage systems are not able to take as much precipitation,” explains Dominic Morin, meteorologist at Environment Canada. “During torrential rains caused by a storm, there is a back-up of sewers, since they do not have time to evacuate all the water. »
At the beginning of the evening, in Saint-Paul, the Saint-Pierre stream was overflowing. “The entire stormwater network is saturated,” said the municipality on Facebook, indicating at the same time that some roads are closed due to the accumulation of water. Citizens whose homes have been flooded are invited to consult the city’s website.
In Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, between 80 and 100 millimeters of rain fell during the day. However, Mother Nature should moderate for the first weekend of the construction holiday: although there are chances of showers on Saturday in the greater Montreal area, Sunday promises to be a sunny day.