Floods force emergency in Montreal, other Atlantic provinces under threat

Flooding. Image credit: Unsplash

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Quebec, May 8 (Canadian-media): A state of emergency in Montreal had been declared by Montreal Mayor, Denis Coderre, on Sunday afternoon, as flood waters continued to rise due to non-stop rainfall for the past few days, media reports said. 

The Mayor said the order enabled the city to more effectively and quickly grapple with the situation.

There will be mandatory evacuations in some areas, Coderre added.

"The most important thing for me is to help the people, help the citizens. I have signed the official papers, so for 48 hours, chief of Montreal Department Bruno Lachance will have all the extraordinary powers to take the decision for resources. If we need to evacuate, it’s an order to evacuate” said Coderre, while addressing the press conference.

The affected boroughs included: Ahuntsic-Cartierville, L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, Pierrefonds-Roxboro, as well as the town of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, and Senneville.

In the latest media report of Sunday morning, 146 municipalities were flooded and 1,520 people had been forced out of their homes.

Sacré-Coeur Hospital in Ahuntsic, affected by flooding was also forced  to transfer patients to a mental health hospital in Rivières-des-Prairies.

Severe flooding on Sunday night had caused Transports Québec to shut down several roads, including the Galipeault Bridge, a major artery that connects Île-Perrot to the island of Montreal, due to water accumulation.

The flood-hit town of Rigaud, in Quebec had also received orders for mandatory evacuation of residents in affected areas after declaring its second state of emergency.

Ottawa and its adjacent city Gatineau in Quebec were also hit with the flood waters. 

​The heavily affected areas in Ottawa included Britannia, Cumberland, Constance Bay, Dunrobin, Fitzroy Harbour, and MacLarens landing.

Responding to the needs of hard hit regions of Quebec flooded, there were 1,200 Canadian Forces troops on the ground across Quebec to help the flood relief efforts.

Heavy floods caused dozens of schools on the island of Montreal and the west and north to be closed. The Lester B. Pearson School Board also closed all schools, centres and daycares.

McGill University had cancelled all classes and exams at both its Macdonald and downtown campuses.

According to a media release issued Sunday afternoon, the city said it was responding to the crisis and more than 250,000 sand bags had been distributed.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the federal government was responding to a request for additional resources to mitigate floods in hard-hit areas of parts of eastern Ontario.

Rob Kuhn, an Environment Canada meteorologist based in Toronto, said on Sunday that eastern Ontario had seen the most rainfall in the province adding more than 80 millimeters of rain fell between Friday and Sunday morning.

According to New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, Atlantic Canada and parts of New Brunswick recorded more than 150 millimeters of rain fall after a nearly 36-hour non-stop rain that left some areas with flooded roads and wet basements, 
 
Several roads were closed  as New Brunswick's St. John River had spilled its banks.

Environment Canada issued rainfall warnings for New Brunswick, and another burst of rain has been forecasted in southern New Brunswick on Monday.

Meanwhile, western Nova Scotia is expected to receive about 50 millimeters of rain over this weekend.

Environment Canada office report in Charlottetown said with of storm moving north, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador were expected to receive around 25 mm, of rain starting later in the weekend.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​​