QUEBEC EVACUATES DAM AREA AS WATER RISES

Flooding also affecting Ottawa, Montreal

Ottawa declared a state of emergency, Montreal’s mayor signalled a “very concrete and direct” threat to homes and a dam was on the verge of failure Thursday as flooding worsened in parts of Eastern Canada.

After nearly a week of rising water levels, public security officials in Quebec called for the immediate evacuation of an area along the Rouge River downstream of Chute Bell because of the risk that the Bell Falls Hydro-Quebec dam could collapse at any moment.

Éric Moisan, a spokesman for Hydro-Québec, said the dam was built to withstand about 1,000 cubic metres of water per second.

As of Thursday evening, it was being bombarded with 1,300 cubic metres of water per second.

“We can’t guarantee the structure will hold. Water is overtaking the top of it and going around the side. Does that mean it will crack? Does that mean a piece of concrete will fall off ? I don’t know.”

He said it was unlikely the entire structure would fall apart and if it did, the impact would be minimal outside of the immediate surrounding area.

Residents around the dam at Grenville-sur-la-Rouge were urged to evacuate the area in a warning issued by the Public Security Ministry late Thursday afternoon.

The largely rural section of river affected stretches about 15 kilometres south to the Ottawa River.

Quebec provincial police said via their Twitter account that officers were helping about 250 people get clear of the affected area as a preventive measure.

When he heard the dam might burst, local resident Nicolas Dinelle prepared for the worst.

“If that happens, we shut down the breaker, pack our bags and go toward higher ground,” said Dinelle, who rents a farmhouse outside of Lachute.

“We’re doing all we can, but at some point the situation is out of our control.”

Across from his property, muddy water overtook a neighbour’s field and stables.

In downtown Lachute, homeowners were getting desperate.

The dam warning came only an hour or so after a press conference held by Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault in the Laurentians, where about 30 soldiers were reinforcing dikes while firef i ghters and municipal workers scrambled to fight back the Rivière du Nord’s swelling waters.

“As I’ve done from the beginning, I won’t hesitate to allocate more resources if things get worse,” Guilbault told reporters. “But I think we have the means in place to handle this right now.”

Just a few hundred feet away from the minister, volunteers filled sandbags, and a bulldozer spread gravel across a road that leads to the river.

Laurent Prévost has lived in Lachute his whole life and said he had not seen flooding this bad since the 1980s. He said the water peaked early Thursday, but appeared to be receding.

“With the rain coming, I’m quite worried,” he said. “The water has already cracked my floor open and I’m not sure how much more we can take.”

In Montreal, officials raised the security level and increased the number of teams on the ground amid fears flooding could get worse in the coming days, but stressed the situation was under control.

Mayor Valérie Plante warned that anyone who was flooded in 2017 should prepare their homes for more flooding — and possible evacuation — if they had not done so.

“The threat is actually very concrete and direct and this is the message we want to send the entire population,” she said.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for Montreal with 30 to 50 millimetres expected Friday and Saturday.

In Ottawa, Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency along the Ottawa River and other waterways.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement forecasting up to 35 millimetres of rain in the capital region by Saturday.

Watson said about 400 soldiers with the Canadian Armed Forces were expected to assist with flood fighting efforts in the city.

Farther east, New Brunswick’s Department of Transportation reported 84 flooding-related road closures Thursday across the province.

Officials said the Trans-Canada Highway was fully closed from Oromocto to River Glade, and could remain closed for several days.

Water levels were predicted to reach 5.4 metres in Saint John on Thursday, rising to 5.6 metres on Friday.

Greg MacCallum, director of the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, said flooding forecasts had dipped slightly and may not reach last year’s levels, but warned they were still well above the flood stage.

He said those in high-risk areas should pay close attention to the volatile water levels.

THE WATER HAS CRACKED MY FLOOR OPEN ... I’M NOT SURE HOW MUCH MORE WE CAN TAKE.