Montreal prepares for possible Spring flooding as river levels climb

The city of Montreal is on high alert for potential flooding in high risk areas in the coming days due to spring thawing.

Officials say on Sunday water flows and levels were on the rise and reached the threshold for minor floods at the Carillon dam.

Flows are expected to rise more over the next 48 hours. Rain is expected to continue to fall over Montreal Monday. We could get 10 to 15 mms.

Boroughs and municipalities on the Lac des Deux Montagnes, Lac St-Louis, and Rivière-des-Prairies, may experience various levels of flooding.

Martin Guilbault with Montreal’s fire department said the city is on alert as the risk of flooding is at its highest since 2019, when thousands of residents were forced from their homes in the region and across Quebec when several rivers and lakes burst their banks.

“Citizens are asked to prepare. The citizen’s responsibility is to organize themselves to protect their home,” Guilbault said.

“We know how stressful this time of year can be for many Montrealers and we will be there to support them. Our crews are ready to invest the necessary human, material, and financial resources to handle the spring freshet. At this time, the safety of our population and the preparedness of the areas at risk of flooding are the main concerns for the city. We wish to inform the population of possible risks related to rising water levels, as well as of the measures to be taken in case of potential floods. Residents of the at-risk areas are encouraged to prepare quickly, as we are. The city is working on reaching out to all residents to provide them with the necessary information to prepare,” stated Alain Vaillancourt, executive committee member in charge of public security.

Spring flooding alert in Montreal, Pointe-Claire Lac St-Louis April 17, 2023. (CREDIT: Martin Daigle/CityNews Image)

Spring flooding alert in Montreal, Rivière-des-Prairies April 17, 2023. (CREDIT: Martin Daigle/CityNews Image)

The city suggests acting fast to protect your property as well as putting in place an emergency plan and safety kit in case you are forced to rapidly leave your home. Visit the flooding section of the City of Montreal website on how to prepare.

You are also recommended to sign up for alerts from the city via the resident services app.

Sun and clouds are expected to be back on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then more rain is in the forecast for Friday and the weekend.

Marie-Soleil Boulet-Pruneau, spokesperson for Quebec’s Public Security Department, said authorities aren’t worried at the moment about major flooding, adding that they were monitoring lakes and rivers across the province, particularly in the Laurentian, Lanaudiere and Outaouais regions. She said officials do not expect the province to be hit with flooding as serious as in 2019.

“The temperatures are expected to trend downward over the next few days, which could reduce snow melt,” she said. “If the temperatures continue to drop, the melting should become more stable.”

In 2019, about 310 communities across Quebec were affected by flooding. An estimated 9,070 homes and 273 businesses were flooded, more than 12,000 people were displaced, 82 landslides linked to the flooding were recorded and 760 roads were washed out or damaged. Officials evacuated the town of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge when it seemed a local dam would not hold. And on April 27, 2019, part of the town of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac was evacuated after a dike broke.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada reported that claims from damage linked to the flooding in Quebec totalled $185 million.

With files from The Canadian Press