Flooding, road closures spread across Montreal in storm aftermath
A wall of ominous clouds advanced over the city. Then a torrential downpour caused flooding and sewer overflow
As fears of a tornado in the Montreal area subsided Thursday afternoon and the dramatic rainfall abated, the city began wading through some of its aftermath, with flooded homes and underpasses, and closed roads.
Environment and Climate Change Canada reported that between 50 and 100 millimetres of rain fell over the city in the space of a couple hours, calling it a torrential downpour in an assessment of the storm published after 7 p.m.
While Mirabel was confirmed to have experienced a tornado and the federal agency said a funnel cloud was reported in Vaudreuil-Dorion, the city appears to have been spared.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante acknowledged the storm's intensity, saying city crews were working to make sure roads are safe and responding to requests for help.
"Montreal faced another difficult climatic episode," Plante wrote in a statement on Twitter in the evening. "There are significant accumulations of water in certain streets and arteries, as well as in Metro stations."
She encouraged residents to call 311 to report issues and to contact 911 in case of emergency.
6 underpasses closed
The heavy rainfall lasted throughout rush hour and flooding closed several roadways in Montreal, including a portion of Highway 15 — a busy downtown expressway also known as the Décarie — at the height of Jean-Talon Street.
Residents watched, some from through their car windshields, as walls of ominous clouds obscured the evening sun over the city. Then, the rain hit — hard, lasting more than hour with episodes of lightning and loud thunder.
Water accumulated in underpasses, such as one on a Highway 40 service road near l'Acadie Boulevard, where cars could be seen driving through a pool nearly covering their tires.
At about 7:15 p.m., Transports Québec tweeted that Highway 20 at Angrignon was closed in both directions because of flooding.
The Centre-Sud neighbourhood was especially affected by flooding, Plante wrote, noting "municipal emergency facilities will be open and ready to welcome you in the neighbourhood if you need them."
Philippe Sabourin, a city spokesperson, told CBC News six underpasses were closed at around 6:30 p.m. due to flooding, most of them in central Montreal.
He said the city has received calls for help from residents experiencing flooding and that firefighters were deployed to pump water out from some homes and buildings.
The storm also caused some sewers to overflow. Last year, the city said it would be investing $300 million over the next decade to build infrastructure capable of draining water and redirecting it from its sewers.
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