The Gleaner

The rain has raised the level of the rivers

le mardi 11 avril 2017
Modifié à 0 h 00 min le 11 avril 2017
Par Mario Pitre

mpitre@gravitemedia.com

The rainfall last weekend combined with snow melt brought fear of flooding to a number of communities in the Suroît.

This was certainly the case for Huntingdon, where town officials set in motion emergency measures on Thursday in preparation for a possible overflow of the Châteauguay River.

According to Mayor André Brunette, the flow rate reached 118 cubic metres per  second at the height of the Henderson Bridge located in the centre of town, while the maximum is 200 cubic metres.

"We observed some flooding of the river upstream in Hinchinbrooke which forced closure of the River Road. But elsewhere, apart from water over certain sections of route 138 and 202, everything was fine."

The emergency measures committee for the town took a variety of precautions. Visits door to door were made to businesses and residences located near the river banks, sand bags were prepared to contain the floodwaters and the hall at the Canadian Legion was prepared to accommodate, as needed, any flood victims.

Volunteer firefighters were also on high alert and ready to respond as were Public Works employees who would be called upon to pump water towards other sections of the river.

Translated by Cathleen Johnston