Deadly record flooding in Quebec and British Columbia – “This is the heaviest rainfall we have seen in over 50 years”
By Joe Sutton and Susannah Cullinane
9 May 2017 (CNN) – Three people are missing and a man has reportedly died after after heavy flooding covered parts of the Canadian provinces of Quebec and British Columbia. The man was driving with his 2-year-old child in the Gaspésie area of Quebec when powerful flood waters pushed their vehicle off the road, said Scott Bardsley, the spokesman for the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ministry. “They got on the roof of the car but were swept away,” Public Safety Canada spokesman Dan Brien said.
National broadcaster CBC later reported that the body of the man had been found and the search for the toddler was continuing. The man’s wife had also been traveling in the car and survived after clinging to a tree branch when the current flipped the car, according to the CBC. In British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said a local fire chief went missing after a swollen river swept him away in Cash Creek, B.C. An elderly man is also missing after a mudslide enveloped his home in Tappen, B.C. “This is the heaviest rainfall we have seen in over 50 years,” Brien said. [more]
Canada floods: 3 missing in Quebec and British Columbia 
9 May 2017 (Ottawa Sun) – Flood-stricken regions in Gatineau and low-lying areas of Ottawa were greeted with sunshine and a promise of relief Tuesday morning as flood experts confirmed levels on the historically high Ottawa River have reached a peak. […] in the Outaouais, the record high water levels will force the closure of federal office buildings in Gatineau for a straight second day on Tuesday, after offices were shuttered Monday, said the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. The City of Gatineau announced Monday morning it would close most municipal buildings, including city hall, except the municipal court, service centres, libraries and sports centres. The school board in Western Quebec was quick to release a statement on Monday, urging students to stay off area roadways. [more]
Updates on flooding in Ottawa and Gatineau areas
MONTREAL, Canada, 8 May 2017 (Viet Nam News) – With heavy rains persisting and waters still rising over much of waterlogged eastern Canada, the nation’s military on Sunday tripled the number of troops urgently working to evacuate thousands of residents. New evacuations were ordered in Pierrefonds, on the northwestern shore of the Island of Montreal, after three temporary dikes ruptured, quickly sending water levels higher. […] A combination of torrential rains and runoff from melting snow has caused rivers to overflow their banks from Ottawa to Montreal, posing critical challenges for people already exhausted by weeks of seemingly unending rainfall. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated in Quebec province, the largest number coming from Gatineau, near Ottawa, said a statement Sunday from the province’s emergency response unit. More than 2,000 homes have been flooded in 130 towns and cities, with authorities urging residents to evacuate before it is too late. The worst is yet to come, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard warned. “The water will continue rising over the next two or three days,” he said Saturday after visiting the town of Rigaud, west of Montreal, which has been flooded for more than a week. Water levels continued to rise across much of an area of some 500 kilometres (300 miles), from Toronto and Lake Ontario and stretching downstream along the St Lawrence River. […] As of Sunday, Robert Robillard, a Pierrefonds resident, had yet to evacuate, despite the 10 to 15 centimeters of water in his basement. “I haven’t seen anything like this since 1974,” he said, adding that the area now is much more crowded and thus vulnerable. [more]
