Floodwaters washed away the only road out, so this Quebec city set up an emergency water taxi

The last time Marcel Pilote was stranded in his home in Shawinigan, Que., was 30 years ago during an ice storm.

But last week, heavy rainfall and flooding trapped him in the enclave of the small city in Quebec's Mauricie region located about 140 kilometres southwest of Quebec City in a way he has never seen in his 60-plus years as a resident.

About 55 roads were damaged, separating 150 homes from the main part of town — and access to food, water and medication.

The closure forced Pilote to take a water taxi into town to get supplies.

"Not everyone has the means to displace themselves," said Pilote, as he stepped aboard the pontoon boat the City of Shawinigan rented.

Pilote says the city's newly implemented shuttle service is helpful, especially for older people. While some citizens have been able to make due with their own boat, for those who don't, a 14-passenger pontoon is running all day.

"It's a really interesting service," said Madeleine Huard, resident of nearby Lac-Lamarre, Que.

"Typically I head into [town] nearly every day and I haven't gone since Friday. So I have multiple things to do."

On Monday, she couldn't go to work because of the road closures in the area.

"I've lived in Lac-Lamarre since 1998 but I've never experienced this," said Huard. "It's the first time. It's exceptional."

While Huard says she's not worried about her safety, she wonders if more intense weather events will eventually impact access for the long term.

Storm's damage 'kind of shocking'

Olivia Pinard, 16, carried duffle bags full of supplies including a litre of bottled water on board the pontoon. Her family friends were camping when they got stuck on the other side of town.

"We really wanted our friends to be OK for the week, to have enough food," said Pinard, who was travelling with her mom and brothers.

"We were kinda surprised seeing all the people stuck here and all the water that destroyed all the stuff. That's kind of shocking."

While the city has been working to re-establish access since Friday evening, Andrée-Anne Trudel with the City of Shawinigan says they're hoping to regain access to more isolated parts of town starting Wednesday.

She says around 55 culverts, tunnels carrying drains under the roadway, have been damaged due to landslides.

"But five culverts have major damages that will require important and major work," said Trudel.

"It is still quite a lot of work."

Mayor Michel Angers suspects the storm has resulted in $10 million in damages.

"Shawinigan is a city with many, many hills, many lakes, many rivers, so it had a very big impact," he said Monday.