Floods wreak havoc in Canada as Montreal declares emergency

Theglobeandmail.com
May 8, 2017
By Giuseppe Valiante

Thousands of Canadians across the country spent the weekend in a desperate struggle with rising floodwaters caused by unusually persistent rainfall.

Quebec has been hardest hit, with nearly 1,900 flooded homes in roughly 130 municipalities, from the Ontario border in the west, to the Gaspe peninsula.

National Defence said in a release that approximately 800 additional troops were deployed in Quebec on Sunday, joining more than 400 Canadian Armed Forces members already assisting with the flood effort in the province.

The troops, along with aircraft and 12 boats from the Naval Reserve, were being positioned to aid communities across Quebec, several of which are under a state of emergency, it said in a release.

On Sunday, Montreal became the latest Quebec city to declare a state of emergency after three dikes gave way in the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough, in the north end of the city by the Rivieres des Prairies.

Canadian Forces Capt. Frederick Lavoie was overseeing 35 army reservists bagging sand and helping to save houses along the river in Pierrefonds.

His men, all from the Montreal area, took over from a regular forces unit Sunday morning and “couldn’t wait to get their hands dirty and feet wet,” Lavoie said.

There should be up to 100 reservists helping in the borough by Tuesday, he added.

“We are here to serve the civilian power,” Lavoie said. “The main thing we can do is save houses from being flooded. And it’s always good to have people on the ground to reassure the population.”

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said about 220 people in the city had been evacuated from their homes.

He said officials were prepared to remove people if they refused to comply with evacuation orders.

“I understand that morally or psychologically, physically, mentally, people are very, very tired. We’re talking 24 hours in a row of people helping each other,” Coderre told reporters. “But sometimes we need to protect people from themselves.”