Southern Quebec still struggles with remnants of tropical storm Debby
CBC
Torrential rains drenched southern Quebec on Friday, breaking the record for rainfall in Montreal. The rain came in the wake of tropical storm Debby and a low pressure system that had formed over the Great Lakes.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada figures, the city received 157 millimetres of rain on Friday, surpassing the previous all-time daily record for rainfall set back in November 1996.
As of 9 a.m. on Saturday, more than 140,000 Hydro-Québec customers were still without power. At the worst of the outages, Hydro-Québec reported more than 550,000 clients without power.
The hardest-hit regions are in the Townships and Laval — each with more than 50,000 homes and businesses without power.
As of 6 a.m., approximately 1,000 homes were flooded, around 400 Quebec residents had been evacuated from their homes, and some 1,500 people had been isolated, according to a provisional report released by Quebec's Public Security Ministry. The preliminary assessment doesn't specify from where the residents were evacuated.
Several landslides have also been reported in the Laurentians.
Hydro-Québec said around 200 workers were out in the field on Saturday morning to solve the issue. More are expected to lend a hand throughout the day.
Spokesperson Louis-Olivier Batty said a lot of the problems were due to the strong winds bringing down branches on lines and flooding in the Crown corporation sub-stations.
La Macaza, a municipality about 170 kilometres northwest of Montreal in the Laurentians region, declared a state of emergency on Friday. It has since opened a shelter for victims and an emergency co-ordination centre.
On Saturday, the municipality of Chelsea, located in the province's Outaouais region, also announced it was in a state of emergency for 48 hours.
Several residents in the province have been trapped by floodwaters, according to Urgence Québec.
The agency encourages people to check their municipality's social media pages and websites for crucial information about disaster relief.
A boil water advisory is in effect for several areas including Boucherville, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, the Longueuil borough of Saint-Hubert and part of Vieux-Longueuil. Officials blame an electrical failure which led to technical issues and a drop in pressure.
They recommend that residents boil their water for at least one minute before consumption until further notice.
A temporary emergency warming centre in Caraquet is getting a second chance after facing backlash from residents.
Quebec's Minister of Municipal Affairs Geneviève Guilbault will leave provincial politics at the end of her mandate, citing family reasons, according to a spokesperson for the minister.
The parent company of Winnipeg spa Thermea has pulled a guest experience survey that asked what one customer says were "highly inappropriate" questions, including one asking if immigration is a threat to "the purity of the country."
Some farmers in Saskatchewan say they hope a new deal on canola tariffs struck with China following a visit by both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe this week will not only improve the market, but also signal a step away from western alienation.
Angelica Lim is explaining how the shiny, white robot in front of us only responds to the command, “Tell me a joke,” when it interrupts her.
Even if you don’t want to sing, Nathan Whitlock says you should still come out to one of his band's live karaoke shows.
Drive south from Calgary on Highway 2 and watch as the speed cuts from 110 kilometres an hour down to 70, then 50, then 30 for a temporary school zone.
The new Ontario Line will include protective barriers at all stations to separate platforms from the tracks, something the Toronto Transit Commission has been considering adding to its subway system for years.
This First Person column is the experience of Andrew Stetson, a writer and storyteller in P.E.I. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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