CBC News - Cut off from drinking water and roads, Quebec towns face daunting cleanup after flooding
“It’s like a tsunami coming down over the city, there was nothing we could do. There was so much water.”
On Saturday, flooding consumed parts of Yamachiche, Que. The municipality had encouraged residents to stop circulting on the streets. (Municipalité d'Yamachiche/Facebook)
In this recent report, CBC News highlights the severe impact of flooding across Quebec, as towns like Louiseville and Yamachiche face a daunting recovery after the remnants of tropical storm Debby inundated southern Quebec. The storm led to unprecedented damage, with 52 municipalities affected, 350 people evacuated, and 52 landslides reported, particularly in the Laurentians.
The flooding has left approximately 900 homes without access to drinking water, forcing residents to seek alternative water sources. For instance, Jean-Pierre Clavet, who runs an organic farm in Yamachiche, has had to transport water from neighboring municipalities to sustain his livestock and poultry. With 10 to 15 percent of Yamachiche's 3,000 residents without running water, the town's immediate focus is on cleanup and temporary repairs while addressing long-term infrastructure needs.
In Shawinigan, around 150 residents remain stranded due to damaged roads, and Mayor Michel Angers estimates $10 million in storm-related damages. The extensive flooding has led seven municipalities to declare states of emergency, with significant challenges remaining in areas like Rivière-Rouge, where road closures and landslides continue to disrupt daily life.
As Quebec works through these recovery efforts, insights from projects like the Canada1Water (C1W) offer valuable data and research that can aid in better understanding and managing water resources in the face of extreme weather events. The C1W project provides crucial information for adapting to the impacts of climate change on water systems, helping communities develop more resilient infrastructure and response strategies for future emergencies.
Click here to read the article at CBC News
“In the last few months, few years, we’re getting used to these kind of rains, these kind of disasters.… But this one is particular, it’s pretty big with at some places they receive more than 200 millimetres of rain. I didn’t see that since [the] beginning of my work.”