Chelsea declares state of emergency after Friday’s heavy rainfall

The “remnants of Debby” storm system has left the area, but there are some hangover problems and potential new issues ahead.

The National Capital Commission has reported that Blanchet and O’Brien beaches at Meech Lake are closed due to storm damage. Also, the federal agency says parking lots P12 and P13 are closed.

NCC weather — Heavy rain in Gatineau Park. The parkway network is closed to all visitors until further notice. Photo: NCC via X Photo by NCC supplieed

The agency said shuttle service is cancelled for the weekend, while the parkway network is closed to all visitors until further notice.

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The municipality of Chelsea, about 20 kilometres north of Gatineau, declared a state of emergency at 9:10 a.m. to allow municipal workers to evaluate damages to municipal facilities and roads.

Just after 10 a.m. the municipality reported some improvement of conditions:

“The emergency measures coordination team remains in place to ensure effective operations.

“After inspecting the area, we found that the water had receded in several places.”

There were no reports of injuries.

In Ottawa, the beach water index continues to show the four city beaches are not recommended for swimming due to high E. coli counts.

Environment Canada reports 75.1 mm of rainfall was measured at their Central Experimental Farm labs.

Saturday looks like a mix of sun and cloud, with a 30 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. The high is expected to be 23 C, but humidity will make it feel like 28.

Saturday’s low is expected to hit 12 C.

More showers are in the picture Sunday afternoon. The high is expected to be 22 C (26 including the humidex.) The low should be around 14 C.

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