Rivers under watch, evacuation notice issued in Saguenay, Que., region

After heavy rainfall over the past few days, rivers in Quebec's Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region are under surveillance and the municipality of Saint-Thomas-Didyme has issued an evacuation notice for 50 of its residents. 

The affected areas are Dumais Road, Acadiens Road, and Range Roads 2 and 3.

The evacuation advisory was released on Wednesday afternoon and residents were asked to leave their homes by Thursday 8 a.m. due to flooding risks from the Rivière des Aulnaies, which passes under a bridge on Dumais Road and another on Range Road 2.

The province's Transport Ministry closed both bridges as of Wednesday to traffic, except for people who wished to leave the area.

Mayor Sylvie Coulombe told Radio-Canada that the evacuation is a precautionary measure, adding that residents in the area had been contacted. 

The municipality is advising residents to contact town hall to find out what services are available.

Rivers in the region under watch 

The Petite rivière Péribonka and the Chicoutimi River are under surveillance.

In Saint-Félicien, the Rivière aux Saumons was in a state of minor flood at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, according to Quebec Public Security's flood monitoring data. Residents who live near this waterway are advised to be vigilant. 

But the situation isn't worrisome for the Saint-Félicien Wildlife Zoo, located near the river.

"This is something that happens every year. We settled around an island so it's certain that [with] the river, we are impacted by this, we monitor it every year. We are monitoring it right now," said David Pagé, the biologist and conservation director of the zoo.

As a precautionary measure, animals were evacuated from the small farm located closest to the river.