Quebec premier tours flood-torn town in Charlevoix region
Police find body of firefighter in river near Baie-Saint-Paul
The latest:
- Police find body, believe it's one of the two missing firefighters.
- Quebec to offer support to displaced Baie-Saint-Paul residents.
- Highways 131 and 349 are closed in the Lanaudière and Mauricie regions.
Quebec Premier François Legault is visiting the province's Charlevoix region, hit hard in recent days by spring flooding.
He is in Baie-Saint-Paul, about 95 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, where he is surveying the damage and meeting with residents.
Severe flooding this week washed away roads and cut off access to homes in regions across the province, forcing a half-dozen communities to declare states of emergency, according to the Quebec Public Security Ministry.
More than 500 people in Baie-Saint-Paul had to leave their homes after the level of the Rivière du Gouffre, which runs through the town, rose on Monday.
Residents face effects of climate change, premier says
Legault said the government would look into what it could do in the short term to limit future infrastructure damage caused by climate change.
"Some people want to stay here, so we're going to have to see what we can do," he said. "[Their home] is the asset of their life and they see that right now, maybe, they won't be able to come back."
A meeting to inform residents about government aid programs available will be held at the local arena at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Yvette Simard met with Legault to ask for support. She showed him a photo album she compiled of previous floods in the neighbourhood, including a serious one in 1936.
She said the flood this week is the worst she and her family have seen in the more than 50 years she has been living in her home. The cement on the front of her house has crumbled and her basement was flooded.
"My garden is no longer a garden anymore," said Simard, looking over at her backyard. "We have never had it like this before."
Earlier Wednesday morning, Hélène Chardin, who is staying with friends after her house was evacuated, said this is the first time she's lived close enough to a river to see the effects of climate change firsthand.
"Unfortunately, I think we'll have to prepare for things of this magnitude more often," she said.
Stéphane Gagnon, another Baie-Saint-Paul resident, said he feels discouraged after the flooding, although there is little he can do.
"It's a bit heavy, but you have to live with it," he said. "You just have to see the damage and think of the families for whom today, material things aren't as important."
Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting periods of snow today in Baie-Saint-Paul, which is expected to change to rain around noon. Later today, the area could see up to two centimetres of snow and up to five millimetres of rain. Wind gusts are expected to blow between 30 km/h to 50 km/h.
Other communities affected by flooding are in the Lanaudière and Laurentians regions, and in western Quebec.
Missing firefighters
On Wednesday, provincial police confirmed they had found a body, and they believe it is one of the two firefighters who went missing this week.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said search efforts will continue to find the second firefighter who was swept away by floodwaters.
Highways remain closed, isolating residents
The closure of Route 131, which collapsed near Sainte-Émélie-de-l'Énergie, in Lanaudière, has isolated more than 5,000 people in Saint-Zénon, Saint-Michel-des-Saints and Manawan.
The water level has risen on Route 349 in the Mauricie region since the highway was shut down preventively Tuesday evening.
It will remain closed indefinitely for safety reasons, Roxanne Pellerin of the Transport Ministry said in an email.
Almost six kilometres of the road is underwater after more than 50 centimetres of rain fell. Transports Québec (MTQ) has detected signs of erosion in at least two areas.
Residents of Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, also in the Mauricie region, remain isolated and unable to enter or leave the town, except for emergency services.
Near the island of Montreal, the bridge between Île Mercier and Île-Bizard remains closed.
Louis-Roch Street, which connects the two islands (which are northwest of the island of Montreal) was closed Tuesday night for safety reasons, according to the borough of L'Île-Bizard.
The Lac des Deux Montagnes is under watch as water levels continued to rise.
with files from Rachel Watts, Radio-Canada's Alexandra Duval and the Canadian Press