(Baie-Saint-Paul) A historic flood of the Gouffre River and its tributaries literally split the city of Baie-Saint-Paul, in the Charlevoix region, in two on Monday. Nearly 1,000 people are isolated in several sectors of the municipality while a search operation has been launched to find two firefighters missing upstream, in Saint-Urbain.
“The river still fluctuates a lot when there are heavy storms, we see it rise quickly, but not like today, that’s unheard of,” says one of the co-owners of Le Génévrier campsite. , Bruno Labbe.
Images captured by citizens near its facilities made the rounds on social networks at the end of the afternoon. We see at least two trailers carried away by the nightmarish flow of the Rivière des Mares, which crosses the campsite, come crashing down on the bridge of the 138 which spans the Rivière des Mares, which normally allows to reach the Côte-Nord from Quebec .
« Vers le milieu de l’avant-midi, vers 10 h, on a vu qu’on aurait des problèmes, que le niveau montait comme on ne l’avait observé, que les installations allaient être menacées, relate Bruno Labbé, qui aurait cet établissement familial depuis 60 ans. [La rivière] started overflowing around 12:30 p.m., and you see, we still have a lot of the campsite. »
At this point, the road “literally tore”, washed away by the waves, said the mayor of Baie-Saint-Paul, Michaël Pilote, during a press briefing, a few hours after having triggered the measures to emergency in his town around noon on Monday.
As a matter of fact, the city is cut in two by the Gouffre River, of which the Mares River is a tributary. All the road links that normally allow citizens to come and go between the two shores are either submerged or closed as a precaution.
In the case of the Boulevard Leclerc bridge, the most important of these links, structural engineers from the Ministère des Transports are on site and are assessing the situation.
“My electricity meter is under water”
Clément Guillou and his colleague live on the east side of the Gouffre River. Unable to return home as they were stranded on the west side when The Press met them, they had to resign themselves to renting a hotel room.
“I never would have believed that the water could pass the low wall,” he said, referring to the walls that normally surround the river in the center of Baie-Saint-Paul. A friend, Pierre, wanted to offer to host them, but he lost the power. “My electric meter is under water,” he said.
According to Mayor Michaël Pilote, nearly 1,000 people were isolated in various areas of the city due to flooding, although they are safe. A helicopter is available in case of emergency.
The municipality, which also asks its citizens to stay at home, is struggling with a major water main break and power outages.
Two daycare centers were also evacuated in Baie-Saint-Paul while the city opened a reception center for refugees at the Aréna Luc-et-Marie-Claude. “We ask for the collaboration of the population by avoiding going out and following the communications of the City in the media”, we add.
Two firefighters missing
Meanwhile, in Saint-Urbain, about 30 minutes north of Baie-Saint-Paul, two firefighters are missing.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) was informed that they would have been swept away by the waters while they were busy helping residents struggling with the floods on rang Saint-Georges. The latter were airlifted and are safe and sound, but the firefighters remain untraceable.
Access to the area is made difficult since some roads have been cut off, again due to the flooding of the Gouffre River and some of its tributaries that have come out of their beds. A helicopter from the Sûreté du Québec was on site to help with the search.
SAR CH146 Griffon helicopters and a CC130 Hercules aircraft as well as a Canadian Coast Guard vessel were also deployed to the scene to assist the SQ in the search, the Canadian Armed Forces Joint Rescue Coordination Center said. The Hercules plane “will launch flares this evening if necessary”, we warn.
A command post has also been set up not far from there by the SQ to coordinate search efforts and citizens are asked not to approach the area.
Reached by telephone, the director general of the municipality, Martin Guérin, confirmed that several residences in the village were currently flooded.
“We asked these people to leave to have access to different services,” he said, calling on those in need to go to the Saint-Urbain community center.
The region may have to wait before having a break since at 3:28 p.m. on Monday, Environment Canada predicted that it should still fall “a total of 20 to 30 millimeters of rain” by Tuesday evening.
Other regions affected
The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, has already announced that he will travel to Baie-Saint-Paul on Tuesday with the MP for Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré, Kariane Bourassa and the Minister of Infrastructure, Jonatan Julian.
Several other regions of Quebec were also affected by the rising waters caused by the intense rain of the last few days.
The municipality of Saint-Côme, in Lanaudière, has also implemented its emergency measures. Volunteers were asked to fill sandbags. Some sectors were evacuated and the Marcel Thériault Recreation Center was opened to receive the victims.
The King dam would also threaten to give way, which could cause the flooding of dozens of residences. “Due to the heavy rains of the past few days, several roads are damaged and in danger of giving way. We ask for your greatest caution during your compulsory trips, ”said the City, on Facebook.
In Gatineau, the City estimates that just over 1,000 properties will be affected by the water and approximately 250 buildings are at risk of being flooded.
“The rapid rise in water levels is expected to stabilize in the coming hours and will be followed by a gradual rise before reaching a peak towards the end of the week,” it said in a statement. However, they will remain high for several days, but below the historic levels of 2017 and 2019.