Quebec officials remain on flooding alert, keeping tabs on weather

The vast majority of those forced from their homes — more than 5,500 — are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

“Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners,” they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels haven’t dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Quebec officials remain on flooding alert, keeping tabs on weather

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