West Island towns submerged
And more rain is on the way, Environment Canada warns
Just an hour before their small island was ordered evacuated, many Île-Mercier residents drove over the bridge, parking their cars on higher ground in Île-Bizard to save them from the rising water.
It was already too high for Jocelyn Bouchard’s BMW convertible, so he drove onto neighbour Rolland Bouvier’s trailer, and Bouvier towed him out with his Jeep.
“The water keeps rising, and I don’t want it to come into the car,” Bouchard said Wednesday afternoon. “I had to get the car out before it got submerged. Everywhere on the island, it’s about two feet deep.”
He parked his car next to several dozen cars that were already parked a safe distance from the island. Bouvier intended to return to the island to help tow other cars in trouble.
Bouchard’s car was one of the last out before city officials ordered the island evacuated at about 3:30 p.m. The rickety two-lane bridge linking the small island of about 50 homes to Île-Bizard was nearly submerged by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
Residents of the island thought they were in the clear two weeks ago when the Rivière des Prairies rose to historic levels, and then backed off. But a deluge on Monday caused the river to burst its banks overnight Tuesday.
“There was three feet of water in my basement this morning,” Bouchard said. “We got a gaspowered pump and got it all out.”
Bert Ansell, another Île-Mercier resident, had five sump pumps going, two of which he had bought on Wednesday — along with the pair of green hip waders he was wearing.
“The pumps are just keeping pace with the rising water,” said Ansell, who has lived on the island for 15 years and said he had an inch of water in his basement. “I’m worried they will cut the electricity. If they do that, I think we’re (in trouble). We have some kind of flooding every year on the island, but never anything like this.”
Ansell, who was parking his white Dodge minivan off the island, was worried that if the island is evacuated and power is cut off to the homes, his house will be submerged because his sump pumps will stop working.
With white hair under a blue cap and a flowing white beard, Ansell said island residents had been under the impression that the flooding risk was done. Most had removed their sandbags and put away their pumps.
“It came up really fast with no warning at all,” he said. “Everybody was in panic. We asked for more sandbags, and were told that the island was going to be evacuated.”
Streets were closed throughout the northern part of the West Island on Wednesday, notably in Senneville, Pierrefonds—Roxboro, Île-Bizard and Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
Parts of major streets like Pierrefonds Blvd., St-Jean Blvd., and Gouin Blvd., were closed because they were under water, and police were helping direct the rerouted traffic.
Environment Canada issued a weather statement Wednesday that warns of more rain on the way for areas already dealing with flooding. The areas affected include Montreal Island, Châteauguay-La Prairie, Laval and Longueuil-Varennes on the South Shore.
The statement said: “A new low will move up the Great Lakes and will bring another prolonged period of rain to the province of Quebec starting Friday morning. Rain will begin over the Outaouais region and will gradually spread eastward during the weekend and even into Monday.”
Jean-Phillipe Bégin, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said water levels could stabilize temporarily on Thursday, but with more rain on the way by the weekend, they could rise again by early next week.
“There is always a delay between what’s falling and water level. It should stabilize (Thursday), but it’s still on the rise,” Bégin said.
In Pointe-Claire, municipal officials closed Parc Bourgeau and Cartier Ave. south of Lakeshore Rd. due to rising water levels.
Spokesperson Jean-Maurice Duddin said the city is on standby with sandbags at the ready.
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue issued a flood water alert Wednesday.
It said the risk of flooding is “very high” for properties near Lac des Deux-Montagnes and Lac St-Louis.
Ste-Anne’s officials recommend citizens raise all items in their basement and suggest acquiring pumps as “precautionary measures.”
Over in Pierrefonds, Serge Kelly’s Des Maçons St. house was surrounded by water. The only way to get to his front door was to step on the paving stones he set up on his walkway.
“The whole basement is submerged, almost up to the main floor,” said Kelly, who has lived in the house for 30 years. “The furnace and the hot water tank are under water. I have a sump pump, but the water just keeps rising. If it gets any higher, my main floor will be flooded, too.
“How can you pump all this?” he said pointing to the moat of water surrounding his house. “It will come back anyway.”
He said the last time he had flooding in his house, located two blocks from the river, was 20 years ago.
“We’re going to pray for sunny and hot weather,” Kelly said.