WATCHING THE RIVER
Pincourt firefighters use sandbags as a precautionary measure to shore up land from the rising waters of the Ottawa River around homes on Duhamel Rd. on Monday. Dry weather over the next two days should lessen the flood threat somewhat.
Recent heavy rainfall has civil security authorities keeping close watch on Quebec rivers for flooding, but drier conditions are expected to ease the threat of overflowing banks in the coming days.
Rain on Sunday caused water levels to rise on all bodies of water over a large swath of Quebec. The organization that monitors flooding in the province says several rivers and streams have reached their limits.
Larger rivers could see water levels continue to rise in the next few days, but Hydro Météo said the rate at which those levels are rising was expected to slow.
Environment Canada was calling for mostly sunny skies in the Montreal region Tuesday and a high of 8 C. There will be periods of rain Wednesday and Thursday, before getting back to sun for the weekend, with highs of 15 C predicted.
Steady rain and the spring thaw combined on Monday to shut down a section of Route 341 in Rawdon, 60 kilometres north of Montreal.
Route 341 between Queen St. and Route 125 was closed after erosion from run-off caused by flooding managed to open us a sinkhole that ate into one of the highway’s two lanes. One lane was reopened to traffic Monday afternoon.
What’s the difference between a pothole and a sinkhole?
Potholes push up. Potholes start with a crack on the road’s surface and cars and trucks put stress on the crack. Water and the freezethaw cycle eventually pushes the road upward. They’re fixed by filling them in.
Sinkholes cave in. Sinkholes start with underground erosion, often due to water buildup. Water pools in an opening, causing support for the roadway to collapse. They’re fixed by correcting the initial problem, then rebuilding the road.