After the torrential rains of the last 36 hours, the infrastructure of the municipality of Chertsey is under close surveillance. A few hundred citizens remain landlocked on Monday. Most will be open by 6 p.m., according to the mayor.
“It was really impressive, our land had become a lake,” says Normand Dumas, a Chertsey resident who lives on Rue de l’Église. The road near his home was damaged in the space of “a few minutes” by the floods that occurred the day before, when the lake located upstream from his home overflowed. “This is the fifth time this has happened. Each time, the municipality has to redo the road. It doesn’t make sense.”
In 36 hours, no less than 120 mm of precipitation fell on Chertsey, in the Lanaudière region. With its 110 lakes and 58 dams, such bad weather inevitably causes heavy pressure on the city’s dams and roads.
As of Monday morning, the situation is “under control despite everything,” he told La Presse. A lake has overflowed and two rivers are also under close surveillance. La Presse noted on site that many streets were still damaged or even impassable.
At midday, around a hundred citizens were still landlocked according to the mayor of Chertsey, Michelle Joly. Several roads will, however, be cleared at the start of the afternoon: 90% of landlocked citizens should have access to a passable path by 6 p.m., “if all goes well,” she said during a press briefing. on the situation.
Crews have already temporarily repaired damaged sections near Lake Lane and Lake Clermoustier. However, the municipality expects that five or six asphalt paths that were damaged by the rains will require the help of engineers, which could take more time.
No residence was flooded apart from a few “minor situations”, the general director told La Presse. There has been no major illness or accident as far as he knows, but a young mother found herself running out of milk for her baby. The emergency services intervened at VTT to take him to a pharmacy and allow him to buy some.
Citizens are always encouraged to minimize their travel and quickly report any emergency situation to the municipality.
The municipality’s general manager Marc-André Plante stressed that his municipality includes 5,600 permanent citizens, but that with Saint-Jean, the city generally welcomes between 17,000 and 18,000 people. He invited the population to follow the evolution of the situation on the municipality’s social networks.
In an interview with La Presse on Sunday, he mentioned that 10 to 12 streets and roads were flooded, but no one had been evacuated. Some residences were at risk of flooding and a shed had already suffered significant damage. In two places, the road had subsided, making traffic impossible — many citizens were therefore isolated. “Obviously, it is our priority to ensure that this road is restored,” said the general manager.
