Quebec, as well as parts of New Brunswick and eastern Ontario been hit hard with massive flooding, brought on by snowmelt and rain which caused the Chaudière, Ottawa, and St. Lawrence rivers to burst their banks. As of April 26, over 2,500 homes were damaged with over 2,100 people cut off due to washed out roads or landslides.
Today, an additional 2,500 homes and over 6,000 people in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac can be added to the statistics after a dike holding back the Lake of Two Mountains breached Saturday evening as families were sitting down to eat supper.
No one was injured or missing, and quick action by Quebec provincial police, using an amphibious vehicle and other measures, allowed them to get everyone out of an area of 50 different streets in the off-island Montreal suburb. As of Sunday morning, the water continues to rise.
Police getting ready to go door-to-door again in Ste-Marthe-sur-le-lac.2500 homes flooded overnight after a natural dike breached. 6000 people forced from their homes & there will be more. Some people had to leave supper on the table as they fled. #Inondations2019 #Flooding2019 pic.twitter.com/YA2h5VQ8rz
— Jay Turnbull (@TurnbullJay) April 28, 2019
“I have never seen anything like this before,” said resident David Tremblay this morning. His father-in-law has lived in the area since 1970, he added, and he’s never seen anything like it either. “Although there’s been spring flooding in the past,” he said, it has never “reached as high levels as it did.”
Emergency services, supported by provincial police officers and the Canadian Armed Forces, were out in force this morning, going door-to-door to make sure everyone is safe, with about 100 additional homes to be evacuated today.
Good morning! The water continues to rise along the Ottawa River. If you need help or want to help here is what you need to know: #ottawa #ottnews #ottflood
— CBC Ottawa (@CBCOttawa) April 28, 2019
just a few hours before the dike was breached, Quebec Premier Francois Legault told residents in waterlogged areas of the province that they face “a few more difficult days” ahead and urged them to “have courage” until the flood threat eases. He noted that swollen rivers south of Quebec City were beginning to slowly recede.
However, Legault said in the corridor along the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers between Montreal and the boundary with Ontario, the river levels weren’t expected to peak before Monday or Tuesday. As a matter of fact, in the Ottawa area on Saturday, there was a call for more volunteers to help with packing and stacking sandbags.
Canadian forces helping Clarence-Rockland residents fill sandbags, load them onto barges and deliver to residents on Chemin Voisine. Soldiers arrived at 9 this morning pic.twitter.com/t5Ona5U3FT
— Judy Trinh (@JudyTrinhCBC) April 28, 2019
Number of Ottawa-Gatineau flood victims spikes as waters keep rising
Military reinforcements are expected in Clarence-Rockland, Ontario today as there are states of emergency in at least 13 communities in the region, including Ottawa and Gatineau.
Glen Roberts’ property in Cumberland is surrounded by a wall of sandbags nearly six feet high, and he is getting frustrated by the attitudes of some politicians. “Not everybody likes carbon tax, but there’s obviously climate change,” he said. “And when I hear politicians not address climate change, or they want to make statements at gas stations, it goes beyond grade three logic.”
