MONTREAL — Communities across Quebec began assessing damage Saturday, a day after the remnants of Hurricane Debby cut off power to nearly half a million residents and brought record-breaking rainfall to several parts of the province.
The historic downpour, which dumped more than 140 millimetres of rain on the island of Montreal, washed away roads and flooded basements across Quebec. And provincial police in the Mauricie region said they are currently searching for a pedestrian in his 80s who they fear was washed into the Batiscan River late Friday after a nearby road collapsed.
At around 11.30 p.m., rescue workers were called to the scene in the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban, but the area is currently inaccessible and dangerous, making the police search difficult.
“Since it is impossible for the police to search the river banks, drones are being used to detect any element that would allow us to locate the missing person,” said police spokeswoman Camille Savoie.
The police used a helicopter to support the search and were still looking for the missing person late in the afternoon.
Denis Bélanger, spokesman for Quebec’s Ministry of Public Safety, said 43 municipalities in the province were affected by the heavy rains and 220 homes were flooded. The Centre-du-Québec, Lanaudière and Mauricie regions were the hardest hit and also experienced several landslides.
About 300 people had to be evacuated from their homes, and another 1,300 were trapped because of the rain.
“They are still in their homes, but the roads do not allow access,” said Bélanger, who advises against non-essential travel to the affected areas.
The ministry asks the population to be alert for signs of landslides and to report them immediately to their communities.
Environment Canada meteorologist Gregory Yang said the worst of the storm is over. Remnants of the storm are currently hanging over Anticosti Island in the province’s Côte-Nord region and moving eastward. Only 10 to 15 millimetres of rain are expected.
Yang described the rains as historic, not only for Montreal but likely also for nearby regions such as the Laurentian Mountains.
“It’s very significant,” he said.
On Friday, up to 173 mm of rain fell on the western tip of the island of Montreal, while 145 mm fell in the downtown area. Both rainfall amounts surpassed the previous daily record of 102.8 mm recorded in the Montreal area in November 1996. Friday’s rainfall also far exceeded the average rainfall for all of August, which is 94.1 mm.
However, other parts of the province experienced even higher rainfall. The municipality of Lanoraie in the Lanaudière region of the province was hit with 221 mm of rainfall.
Quebec’s Ministry of Transport issued a statement on Saturday saying the storm had caused significant damage to several roads, with the Lanaudière and Mauricie regions being the worst affected.
A statement from the City of Ottawa also said some roads in the West Carleton and Kanata neighbourhoods were severely damaged.
The storm plunged hundreds of thousands of Quebec residents into darkness, and work to restore power was still underway. As of 4:45 p.m. Saturday, more than 54,000 customers were without power, compared to the roughly 550,000 customers affected Friday evening.
Outside Quebec, Fredericton was hit with 57.8 mm of rain as the storm moved east into New Brunswick, and more rainfall is forecast. Yang said the city can expect some showers Saturday afternoon, but not as dramatic a downpour as Quebec.
Several Ontario communities also received their share of rain during Friday’s storm. Summerstown received 117.9 mm of rain, while Kinburn, Cornwall and Ottawa recorded 115.8, 95 and 74.7 mm of rain, respectively.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 10, 2024.
Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press
