Chelsea, Que., is reporting a state of emergency after Friday’s heavy rainfall.
The state of emergency will last 48 hours from about 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the municipality’s mayor, Pierre Guénard, said in a video posted to Facebook.
He added it will allow emergency crews to respond to the damage quickly
“We still have many residents that are cut off — their road has been literally cut in half,” Guénard said in the video.
He’s calling for residents to be respectful of workers and heavy machinery on municipal roads.
The intense rainfall faced by the area was leftover from the tropical storm Debby.
In neighbouring Gatineau, Environment Canada had recorded 83 millimetres of rain by 5 p.m. Friday, blowing past the city’s previous Aug. 9 rain record of about 43 millimetres from 1959. A rainfall total for Friday wasn’t immediately available.
The Gatineau Park parkway network is also closed, according to the National Capital Commission, and shuttle service has been suspended for the remainder of the weekend.
Roads closed in Ottawa
Slightly further south in Ottawa, which also set a daily rainfall record of 45.3 mm, flooding caused multiple road closures and at least one possible sinkhole, according to police.
As of 11 a.m. on Saturday, according to the City of Ottawa, five roads are closed due to flooding, mostly in west Ottawa. Police said the closures are expected to last until at least 5 p.m. Saturday. The roads include:
- Steacie Drive between Teron Road and Alfred Casson Way.
- Old Second Line Road between Thomas A. Dolan Parkway and Murphy Side Road.
- Marchurst Road at Murphy Side Road.
- March Road at Carp Road.
- Old Maple Lane between Thomas A. Dolan Parkway and Strode Avenue.