Montreal activates emergency response plan as region remains on flood watch

Montreal and surrounding municipalities remain on high alert for possible flooding this weekend, with the city activating its Special Flood Response Plan Friday morning to ensure the region is ready to respond to more rain in the forecast.

“Our top priority is the safety of Montrealers,” said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada in a news release.

She said the city activated its emergency response plan as a preventive measure “so that we can act quickly if the situation requires it.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued a special weather statement early Friday morning, warning that showers over southern Quebec are anticipated overnight Saturday to Sunday. The concern is over the rainfall adding to already-high water levels in some areas.

Richard Liebmann, chief of Montreal’s fire department and co-ordinator of emergency measures, explained that despite the weather currently being nice and sunny, “we have to focus on the weather upstream as well.”

Simon Legault, a warning preparedness meteorologist with ECCC, told CBC that the Montreal area is expected to receive about 15 millimetres of rain this weekend, with more expected in the regions of Outaouais, Laurentians and Lanaudière.

Several Quebec regions under flood watch, Montreal hits highest alert level

Municipalities west of Montreal are currently monitoring water levels.

Vaudreuil-Dorion is moving from a green watch alert, to a yellow alert. On its Facebook page, the city says it doesn’t anticipate flood levels to be comparable to those in 2017 and 2019.

For Île-Perrot, the city says teams are monitoring water levels and want to reassure people living along the river.

The two municipalities are asking people to check that their submersible pumps are working and valves are up to code.

In Rigaud, the city is warning that the Ottawa River’s water levels are rising. A minor flood watch threshold has been reached. Residents are invited to get sand at the local fire department and a wave barrier was installed at the Pointe-Sèguin boat launch to break up the waves. Security is also patrolling and monitoring the situation.

Flood prevention preparations started in Montreal’s Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough in mid-March, according to mayor Jim Beis. Blue-collar workers were installing sandbags and building modular dikes there this week, in case the tide continues to rise.

“The river is pretty high this year, so it might come out,” Marek Danielenko, an area resident, told CBC on Thursday.

“If we get more rain, it’s a possibility. You never know with Mother Nature.”

Laval has also been closely monitoring water levels on the Rivière des Prairies and Rivière des Mille Îles.

A dike was being installed on Riviera Street Friday morning to protect at-risk areas, as part of the city’s proactive security measures.

Rawdon is in “surveillance” mode, as well, after already experiencing some flooding that closed a section of a street earlier this week.

“We’re in an area where, yes, the water level did rise and is high,” said Rawdon’s mayor, Raymond Rougeau.

“But it’s not creating problems now. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best.”