Montreal ramps up flood preparations as water levels expected to rise
Under heavy rain, and a wet forecast ahead, the City of Montreal increased its flooding alert preparation to Level 3 Thursday.
Montreal Fire Chief Richard Liebmann said the city has been putting in place preventive measures since the middle of last month, and with the raised alert level, teams are now in place and ready to act if there is any flooding.
“The big difference with Level 3 is now we open the emergency operation centre 24 hours a day staffed, but we’ve had a virtual emergency operation centre open since we went up to Level 2,” Liebmann told reporters Thursday.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said people should rest assured the city is prepared for any natural disasters.
“Of course, a lot of residents are worried,” she said. “We’re following it very closely and have done a lot of prevention in recent days to be ready for the worst. We’re ready to react if needed.”
Water levels have risen dramatically over the last few days in the lakes and rivers surrounding the Montreal region, and forecasts call for levels to continue to climb through the weekend.
“We’ve already gone over the average water level, and we’re starting to see some flooding at the lower-lying areas,” said Pier-Luc Cauchon, a longtime resident of Île Mercier, just off of Île Bizard. “We usually have two peak periods. The water is about 10 inches away from the bridge to get to the island, and I figure the bridge will be covered by water starting this weekend.”
Cauchon is used to preparing for frequent flooding. He was among the residents who remained on the island during the 2017 historic flooding, when water surrounded most homes on the island.
The borough of Île-Bizard—Ste-Geneviève was preparing sand bags Thursday, and Cauchon expects that some of his neighbours will begin building walls of sand to prevent water from reaching their homes. Nearby, Pierrefonds-Roxboro blue-collar workers were setting up temporary walls at the northern end of Château-Pierrefonds Ave., and council members were conducting door-to-door visits to inform residents about how to prepare for potential flooding, and what resources would be available from the city.
“At the rate they are projecting into Saturday, we know that without our emergency measures, we will have some flooding in the area,” said Pierrefonds-Roxboro mayor Jim Beis.
Both Pierrefonds and the neighbouring town of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue had informed residents that preparations were being made to prevent flooding, and sand bags will be handed out to those who need them.
“We’re able to closely monitor the water levels, but we understand that anything can change,” Beis said. “We know that water levels will continue to climb Saturday and Sunday. But will it plateau after that? We don’t know.”
The City of Rigaud, west of Montreal, was also handing out sandbags and telling residents who live in flood zones to be prepared.
In Laval, some streets were already closed due to minor flooding in the Laval-Ouest and Fabreville areas. The city was setting up a temporary dike on Riviera St. and evaluating whether other measures are needed. As of now, the city has prepared sandbags, but has not distributed any to homes, because none are at major risk for flooding.
“The situation in Laval is under control right now,” said Laval fire chief Patrick Taillefer. “We’re in alert mode, and waiting to see if we’re going to go into intervention mode. For the moment, we just have minor flooding.
“We’re really far away from what we saw during 2017 and 2019 at this point.”
The fire department will conduct door-to-door visits to reassure citizens that the situation is under control, Taillefer said.
Jesse Feith of The Gazette contributed to this report.
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