Ottawa-Gatineau residents brace for significant flooding
Sandbags and evacuation plans ready as more rain forecast through Sunday
Thursday was the final waiting day in the capital region: The shelters were open, the sandbags were stacked, the water levels were steady for the moment, and all eyes were on that unforgiving forecast:
“Significant rainfall to begin tonight (Thursday night) and persist into the weekend. With the ground already saturated, there is the potential for local flooding,” Environment Canada warned.
How high will it go? The official forecasts covered a wide range.
The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board was expecting rainfall of 15 to 40 millimetres. It forecasted a rise in water levels of 17 centimetres on Lac Deschênes and 24 cm below Parliament Hill.
However, Environment Canada’s rainfall warning late Thursday said Ottawa would receive in the range of 30 to 50 mm of rain through to Sunday, and areas upstream from us — Renfrew to Algonquin Park — could receive 70 mm.
The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority put out a warning that heavy rains could raise water levels on the lower Ottawa River by 25 to 35 cm.
It added that, “The rain is forecast to taper off on Sunday so a peak can be expected late on Sunday or on Monday.”
An entire neighbourhood on the east side of the Gatineau River around St. Louis Street, between Parc La Baie and Highway 50, was already covered in brown water, with houses popping up like little islands. All the streets were closed to traffic. People can stay home if they want, but they need a boat to go anywhere and many have no heat because the gas is shut off.
On Thursday, water was gushing down the Ottawa River at a rate of 7,500 cubic metres per second. That’s equal to pouring out a tank 100 metres long, 75 wide, and one metre deep, every second.
There’s more river’s-edge flooding in Gatineau east of Parc La Baie and near Masson.
Sewers there are threatening to become a problem, though they’re still flowing for now.
On the Ontario side, the Ottawa River has flooded homes near the water’s edge in Cumberland.
In Clarence-Rockland, Mayor Guy Desjardins declared a state of emergency on Thursday and the city began evacuating communities affected by flooding.
Councillor Mario Zanth said a local arena was being used to house dozens of families forced to leave their homes. Floodwaters are the highest in 20 years, said Zanth.
Upstream, Pontiac has begun offering voluntary evacuations, and the Red Cross is helping evacuees at a community centre in Luskville.
The municipality encouraged residents of the affected areas “to evacuate before the weekend,” because after the water rises, police and firefighters may not be able to reach people quickly.
The ferry between Cumberland and Masson is closed, as it was during another period of high water in late April.
Urgence Québec is telling residents that they can apply to the province for financial assistance to pay for labour and materials involved in flood cleanup and repairs.
It’s also telling people to throw out any absorbent material touched by floodwaters (such as carpets, upholstered furniture and clothes, or food and medicine that may have been in contact with the water).
Gatineau announced Thursday morning it had installed 12,000 sandbags overnight, bringing the total since mid-April to 132,000. It was expecting to add 100,000 by Friday.
Its flood website has had 17,105 visitors since Monday.
The city is still saying evacuations are voluntary, as no one is in immediate danger. Some 223 people have left their homes, with the Red Cross taking care of most of them.
Gas is shut off to 126 homes in Gatineau as a precaution.
Carmen and Du Quai streets are newly closed, but Campeau Street has been reopened.
The city is also asking residents not to make waves, literally: A request on the city’s Twitter account asks them to drive slowly through water-covered streets to prevent waves from washing across nearby property.
People whose mail service has been suspended can pick up mail from Canada Post at 139 Racine St.
Meanwhile, residents of Papineauville, near Montebello, have been asked to reduce their water consumption because the municipality’s pumping stations are in flood zones.
The city described the request as a precaution.