The heavy rain that will fall on southern Quebec during the weekend will raise the level of water bodies that are under close surveillance, but the damage should generally be limited, temper experts.
“It will remain below an acceptable threshold,” said the Log Joshua Ménard-Suarez, Civil Security Advisor at the Ministry of Public Security. There will be an increase in levels and flows, but nothing major enough to say that it will become catastrophic.
A weather system from the United States will land on the south of the province on Saturday afternoon, Environment Canada said in a rain warning.
Martin Alarie / Le Journal de Montreal
On April 17, rang Sainte-Marguerite, at the corner of Montée Guénette, in Mirabel, was closed due to flooding.
A certain calm is expected on Sunday, but the precipitation will resume in the evening and extend until Monday morning. In total, 30 to 50 millimeters of rain should fall.
At the same time, the mercury should approach the 15°C mark in certain sectors, which could cause the last piles of snow to disappear.
More vulnerable
“The sectors that we are monitoring more closely, which continue to be more vulnerable, are the Outaouais, the Laurentians and Lanaudière”, specifies Joshua Ménard-Suarez.
Courtesy LinkedIn
Joshua Ménard-Suarez Civil Security Advisor at the Quebec Ministry of Public Security (MSP) Courtoisie LinkedIn
Saturday afternoon, the Ministry of Public Security identified a dozen bodies of water with minor flooding.
The Lac des Deux-Montagnes, from Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, and the Ottawa River, at the height of the Hull marina, are particularly included.
In the standards
The precipitation expected during the weekend “is not exceptional” and is “standard” in the middle of spring, explains Maxime Boivin, co-director of the InterSectoral Flood Network of Quebec.
“These are not quantities beyond normal, adds the geographer and professor at UQAC. These are hydrometeorological events that are relatively frequent.”
Photo Olivier Faucher
The lots of several houses on L’Assomption River Road were flooded earlier in April.
He agrees, however, that rivers already showing minor flooding could reach medium or even major overflow levels.
“If there is still snow left, the precipitation and the warm temperatures will ensure that there is a melting that can be accelerated,” suggests Maxime Boivin.
Adapt
Because of climate change, we will have to expect more frequent heavy amounts of rain in a very short time, says Amar Sabih, a mechanical engineer who works at McGill University.
Photo archives, QMI Agency
An area of Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, in the Laurentians, was completely flooded following a breach in a permanent dike on Monday, April 29, 2019. In the photo, we see a vehicle almost completely submerged in a flooded street. Maxime Deland / QMI Agency
The Quebec authorities are getting better and better prepared to deal with episodes of flooding, he believes, but major changes will have to be studied in land use planning.
“We are invading natural regions where floods occur. All the countries see these areas, but here we build, build and build,” says the expert in material degradation.