(Montreal) About 10,500 Hydro-Québec customers were still without power Sunday afternoon, two days after the unprecedented torrential rains.
According to the Crown corporation’s report, as of 2:46 p.m., there were 10,521 customers without electricity across the province. The Estrie region was still the most affected, with 6,030 customers without electricity, followed by the Laurentians, with 2,255 customers without power.
As of Friday evening, the total reached more than 550,000 across the province.
Hydro-Québec said power should be restored to the vast majority of customers still without electricity by Sunday evening. However, some will have to wait until Monday due to accessibility issues.
Several municipalities in Quebec received record amounts of rain in the space of 24 hours, exceeding 100 millimeters and up to 221 mm in Lanoraie, in the Lanaudière region.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), 154 mm of rain fell in Dorval and 145 mm in downtown Montreal. This is a quantity that far exceeds the 94 millimetres of rain that fall on average throughout the month of August in the Montreal region.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
A flooded street in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, August 10
Data published at 8:10 a.m. Saturday by Environment Canada also reported an accumulation of 173 mm in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue in the west of the island, 163 mm in Brossard, on the South Shore, and 160 mm in Terrebonne on the northern shore.
Hydro-Québec says it has deployed nearly 300 crews to restore power. The state-owned company is warning the public not to approach downed wires.
Around 1 p.m. on Sunday, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, took stock of the situation following the heavy rains, in a publication on the social network X.
He said that the latest information reports that 55 municipalities have been affected by the floods, and that more precisely, 260 residences have been flooded.
In addition, 400 people were evacuated, and nearly 170 roads were affected by the damage. Finally, eight municipalities declared a state of local emergency.