State of Emergency Declared in Quebec Town Due to Flood Risk, More Towns Evacuating

A town near Quebec City has declared a state of local emergency due to rising water levels, as heavy rain over many parts of the province has communities on alert for flooding.

The mayor of Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval announced the state of emergency today, after officials in the town ordered the evacuation of more than 200 homes late Monday due to flood risk.

Environment Canada has issued rainfall or thunderstorm warnings for several parts of the province, and has warned of possible flooding in low-lying areas.

The province’s flood map shows medium flooding at one monitoring station in the Quebec City area, and minor flooding at nine other stations, including several in the Estrie region, east of Montreal.

The city of Sherbrooke, 150 kilometres east of Montreal, says it has ordered preventive evacuations for about 144 residences in sectors close to the river, and has warned that the number could rise.

Cookshire-Eaton, just east of Sherbrooke, also announced it was evacuating several streets near the Eaton river, which spilled its banks overnight.