Flooding and evacuations in several locations

Guy Martel/QMI Agency

QMI agency

Saturday, 13 January, 2018 07:49

UPDATE
Saturday, 13 January, 2018 07:49

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QUEBEC – heavy rainfall and mild temperatures in recent days have caused flooding and forced the evacuation of many residents in the eastern Townships.

In the municipality of Cookshire-Eaton, in Estrie, 70 residents had to evacuate their home in the rue Eaton, after the river of the same name out of his bed late Friday afternoon. According to the fire Department of the urban agglomeration of Cookshire-Eaton, it is an ice jam that caused this evacuation. The situation is still being closely monitored by the municipality and a team of firefighters remained on site into the night Friday to Saturday.

Same scenario on the side of Beauport in Quebec city, with the flooding of the street of the Three Saults and the rue de Canteloup, on Friday night. Seven residences were evacuated by fire-fighters and five people were taken care of by the Red Cross. “Nobody has been injured since the beginning of the floods”, said Saturday morning Bill Noonan, spokesman for the Department of fire protection of the city of Québec (SPIQ).

On the side of Sherbrooke on highway 55, between Windsor and Sherbrooke, has been completely submerged and closed in both directions for several hours during the night due to flooding. A rescue operation was launched to rescue a motorist stuck in the beginning of the night.

Yet to monitor

Although the worst is past, few rivers remain to be monitored. This is the case of rivers Beaurivage, Chaudière, Chaudière-Appalaches, rivers, Nicolet and Bécancour, in Centre-du-Québec, and the river Coaticook, in Estrie, warns Peter Corbin, Hydro Weather.

If the drop in temperature should put an end to the flooding of streams, the snow forecast for the day on Saturday could create frazil ice, flake ice that form on the water. These could worsen ice jams existing and of new rise in the level of some rivers.