City extends emergency as water levels stabilize
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said it still isn’t time to relax in the face of flood waters that have gripped the region.
At special meetings held Friday afternoon, the city of Montreal and agglomeration councils voted unanimously to extend the island-wide state of emergency.
“The situation is stable for now, but the water has not gone down yet,” Plante said.
She thanked the mayors of the affected boroughs, firefighters, emergency responders and blue-collar workers for their excellent work so far.
Assessing the overall situation, Montreal fire chief Bruno Lachance said although the water levels climbed higher than the historic floods of 2017, the damage has been limited.
“Among those who were flooded, 96 per cent have less than 24 inches of water in their basements,” Lachance said.
“That means for Montreal, in addition to radically diminishing the number of people flooded compared to 2017, those flooded have for the most part suffered far less damage.”
Lachance said the water is still at its highest level, and there is tremendous pressure on dikes.
“Dikes are temporary and unstable structures and can be affected by weather, waves and vibration caused by machines and pumps,” he said. “A rupture of a dike is still possible.”
He said water levels are not forecasted to recede this weekend — and they could rise if there is heavy rain next week.
As water continued to accumulate in Hydro-Québec’s large reservoirs, dams began releasing pressure on Friday. The Cornwall dam on the St. Lawrence River increased flow by 100 cubic metres per second Friday to ease levels on the Great Lakes, and that water will cause Lake St. Louis to swell.
Meanwhile, reservoirs in Abitibi-Témiscamingue must also release pressure into the Ottawa River, with water levels very high and still some snow on the ground. Water levels in the Ottawa River aren’t expected to recede for at least a couple of weeks, authorities said.
In the Mattawa, Pembroke, Ont., and Lake Coulonge regions, water levels on the Ottawa River could be higher by Sunday than the peaks measured during the 2017 floods, according to experts.
Plante said work is underway to update the Montreal region’s flood maps, and she expects updated maps to be presented by the Montreal metropolitan community on May 16. She said she hopes she can accelerate the process to get the new maps decreed as official provincial documents.
In the meantime, the Canadian Red Cross announced Friday it will be donating $600 to some of Quebec’s hardest-hit families.
The money stems from the $3 million the Red Cross raised through its emergency fund for Quebec flood victims. It comes from donations from the government — Premier François Legault had pledged $1 million on behalf of the province — and individual donations from citizens and businesses.
At a news conference, Canadian Red Cross vice-president Pascal Mathieu said the money will go to families whose primary residences have been severely damaged, such as completely flooded basements.
The money will be given to families who have registered at redcross.ca.
The Red Cross, which will contact registered homeowners in the coming weeks, hopes the money can help give families a small break, and Mathieu encouraged Quebecers to continue to donate.
Spring floods have hit several areas across the province, including in Outaouais, Beauce, Mauricie, the Laurentians and Montreal.
As of Friday, 10,037 people had left their homes across the province. A total of 7,172 homes had been flooded and 3,928 homes were cut off from their communities by flood waters.
Montreal, registered 251 evacuees, 192 homes were flooded and 49 homes isolated by flood waters.
There were 303 evacuees in Rigaud and 5,237 in Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, which were among the most affected municipalities.
The Cornwall dam on the St. Lawrence River increased its flow by 100 cubic metres per second Friday to ease levels on the Great Lakes.