Baie-Saint-Paul is in a state of emergency
The heavy rainfall of the last few hours has placed several sectors of the Capitale-Nationale in a state of alert. In Baie-Saint-Paul, in Charlevoix, a state of emergency has been declared and two firefighters are missing. On the side of Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval, in the northern suburbs of Quebec, evacuations were ordered in the middle of the afternoon.
About 200 people are therefore affected by this evacuation, which could last several days since the snowmelt in the watershed of the Montmorency River, which is located in the Parc des Laurentides, is not yet over. In addition, more precipitation is expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We ask people who are evacuated to go to our disaster service center at Parc des Saphirs to take their contact details and check if they need accommodation. We expect the situation to last between 24 and 72 hours,” said Mr. Proulx, adding that it was “difficult to anticipate” the evolution of the situation.
In addition, citizens are invited to follow the progress of the situation on the Ville de Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval website. A page dedicated to the current crisis has been set up and is updated in real time. By 6 p.m., forty-five accommodation requests had been sent to the City.
Québec and Lac-Beauport on alert
On the Quebec City side, two evacuations totaling eleven residences took place on avenue des Sablonnières (1 residence) and rue des Trois Saults (10 residences). These sectors are also bordering the Montmorency River. Elsewhere in the territory, the other rivers remain under surveillance, but they are not causing any problems according to the authorities.
In Lac-Beauport, the municipality has asked citizens in flood-prone areas to get their vehicles out of these areas before late afternoon due to 'high risk' of flooding along the Yellow River. In a press release sent around 3 p.m., the administration says that “the amounts of rain that have already fallen will cause the rivers to come out of their beds.”
State of emergency in Charlevoix
Finally, in Charlevoix, two firefighters are missing after being swept away by the current of the Gouffre River in Saint-Urbain while trying to rescue citizens trapped in the floods caused by the overflow of the river. Helicopters from the Sûreté du Québec and the Canadian Armed Forces have been requested on site to participate in the search efforts.
In Baie-Saint-Paul, more than 1,000 residents are currently isolated due to the rising waters. The mayor of the municipality, Michaël Pilote, encouraged citizens to stay at home, pleading that it was “the place where we are safest at the moment”. The floods notably forced the closure of Route 138 in the Laiterie Charlevoix sector. Several caravans from Camping Le Genevrier were also washed away. The municipality has opened a service center for disaster victims at the Aréna Luc-et-Marie-Claude located on rue Forget.
