Chelsea, Que., extends state of emergency for 10 days
Recovery still in progress in aftermath of flooding
- UPDATE | The state of emergency lifted on Aug. 22.
The emergency order for Chelsea, Que., was extended for 10 days on Monday while crews continued to work on washed-out roads and flooded basements.
The intense rainfall experienced by the town was left over from the tropical storm Debby.
The municipality declared a state of emergency on Saturday. The declaration allows the municipality to move more quickly to repair damage by giving contracts to construction crews rather than going through the usual council process.
In a interview on Sunday, Mayor Pierre Guénard said the decision was made to help officials deal with the damage as efficiently as possible. The emergency order was set to expire Monday morning but was extended Monday afternoon.
Guénard said water was running so high Friday evening that "it was filling the ditches and flowing across the roads, and washing out parts of roads." He said crews worked throughout the weekend and the main roads are now accessible in Chelsea.
Much of the municipality is rural, but the central part of the town experienced no major flooding and was able to handle the rainfall, said Guénard, adding that more than 200 residents were cut off from roads.
Cities across Quebec were hit hard by the heavy rainfall. Some homes are still without water.
Meanwhile, in Val-des-Monts, all roads are open to traffic.
"Our teams are working on some roads where traffic is still alternating, because the shoulders have subsided, but overall, the situation has returned to normal," said Kevin St-Jacques, the city's director of communications.
Gatineau Park repairs also underway
In nearby Gatineau, the National Capital Commission (NCC) said cleaning and securing the park could take several days.
Catherine Verreault, director for Quebec Urban Lands and Gatineau Park for the NCC, said that surveying the entire area is a lengthy process considering how much ground crews need to cover.
"There are over 30 kilometres of parkways in the park and over 200 kilometres of trails. So for the trails and assets, there are still inspections going on and we're surveying everything to try to see what has been affected and where are the major damages and where we are prioritizing and the interventions that we have to do," said Verreault.
The Champlain Parkway between the Fortune and Gatineau parkways is closed to all traffic. The Fortune and Gatineau Parkways are only accessible by bike or by foot. Shuttle service has been halted. A number of beaches, including Meech Lake and Blanchet, are also closed.
Verreault said officials are recommending that people steer clear of hiking trails in the park while they continue to assess damages.
"You're not able to see as far as you want when there are, you know, slopes or you know, curves on the trail and you can't see what's happening on the other side and there might be washouts," she said.
Affected locations are listed on the NCC website.
With files from Isabel Harder and Anchal Sharma