Most Quebecers get power back after strong storm rips through many parts of province
In the span of a few hours, areas in Quebec received almost a month's worth of rain
The majority of Quebec residents had their power back Monday morning after a strong storm swept across the province Sunday, knocking down power lines and flooding major intersections and buildings.
Slightly more than 4,600 clients were without power across the province on Monday morning, according to Hydro-Quebéc's outage map. This is down from the 100,000 mark on Sunday afternoon.
According to Environment Canada, the greater Montreal area received roughly the same amount of rain within a few hours that it normally receives during the entire month of July. The Montreal, Laval, Laurentians and Lanaudière regions saw anywhere between 70 and 80 millimetres in the span of three hours. The same regions typically see 90 millimetres for the entire month of July.
Most roads open
Traffic for most parts of the greater Montreal region was mostly back to its regular flow Monday morning after many roads and intersections were flooded on Sunday. Some lanes may remain along these routes.
There is a complete closure at the Grandes-Prairies Boulevard and Lacordaire Salaberry crossing in Saint-Léonard.
The sudden rainfall caused several floods on major highways including the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge toward Laval and Highway 40 near Dorval.
An 82-year-old man had to be rescued by two Montreal police officers and a city worker after getting stuck under a viaduct on De Salaberry in Cartierville.
Cleanup under way
City of Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said the city's water gauge measured rain falling at a high of 155 millimeters an hour.
He also said Montreal received as many calls from citizens yesterday as it did during the aftermath of Debby — a storm that caused historic damage on the island.
The city is asking people to report areas that have not drained yet to 311.
Sabourin said the cleanup will focus on the centre and northern parts of the island of Montreal that were hardest hit: Saint-Laurent, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Saint-Leonard and Villeray-Saint-Michel Rosemont.
He is asking the public to avoid playing sports in the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière-des-Prairies for the next two days.
Other regions also impacted
In Quebec City, organizers of the Festival d'été de Québec had to reorganize and cancel some of their shows due to the downpour.
One municipality on Île d'Orléans declared a state of emergency and closed the main road on account of the storm.
With files from Radio-Canada