Heavy rainfall has caused flooding conditions in several rivers in Quebec

SAINT-JÉRÔME, Que. — Quebec officials are reporting flooding in several rivers north of Montreal and in Quebec City after heavy rains hit parts of the province this week.

In Saint-Jerome, Que., about 50 kilometers northwest of downtown Montreal, water flow of more than 260 cubic meters per second Saturday morning led the province's Department of Public Safety to classify flooding in the Rivière du Nord as “major.” Officials recorded a flow of only 64 cubic meters per second in the same river three days ago.

The department noted “moderate” flooding in four other rivers and minor flooding at six other water level monitoring stations in the province, including one on the St. Charles River west of downtown Quebec City.

Environment Canada meteorologist Felix Biron said most of the flooding reports were concentrated in Quebec's Laurentide and Lanaudière regions north of Montreal, which received 30 to 35 millimeters and 35 to 40 millimeters of rain, respectively, between Thursday and Saturday.

The rural municipality of Chertsey, 45 kilometers north of St Jerome, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that torrential rain had washed out part of a local road, submerged two cars and forced about 50 residents from the rest of the town.

Eve Brochu-Joubert, a spokeswoman for the provincial police, said two passengers in one of the vehicles escaped unharmed. Authorities were initially unable to locate the driver of the second vehicle, but later located him safely.

Chertsey officials expect the damaged road to be repaired by Sunday morning.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 13, 2024.

Canadian Press