Floodwaters in Rigaud rise to new heights

CTV Montreal: Pierrefonds floods West Island residents are dealing with flooding as water levels on the back river rose about 30 cm overnight.

Water levels in Rigaud have reached unprecedented levels, according the town's mayor.

"We have never seen water levels this high," said Hans Gruenwald Jr.

Two weeks after the town declared a state of emergency, water has surrounded or infiltrated about 400 houses in Rigaud, and as water continues to rise more houses are likely to be flooded.

The water’s lever is now 11 centimetres higher than it was on April 20th, and again, 400 homes are threatened.

“As long as the wind is up there with the water level at that high level that we have now, I am very concerned. The waves can even destroy houses,” he said.

He urged residents who were trying to protect their homes from rising water to get to safety while the roads were still passable.

"It's important that you leave now because if it's necessary at 2 a.m. I cannot guarantee that we will get to you. I don't want to risk the lives of our emergency workers, of firefighters working in the dark at night with no lights," said Gruenwald Jr.

"We will respect your decision but I will tell you right now that we cannot guarantee your safety if something happens."

The town is offering a 24-hour shuttle service to pick up residents and bring them to emergency shelter, but Gruenwald Jr. said that was only possible in areas where roads remained accessible.

Water levels had subsided slightly since evacuations were first ordered on April 20, but this Monday the water began to rise again, fed by the heavy rain that fell over the western Quebec and eastern Ontario.

Gruenwald Jr. said a seemingly small increase in water levels will put people at risk.

"Five to seven centimetres could mean that the water level is high enough so that the water will start coming in by the basement windows. You can't pump that anymore. Okay? This is what this means. This means it brings people and the situation to a level where private people, very few private people will be able to manage that situation."

Dozens of rivers in Quebec are subject to flood alerts, and areas of Montreal are flooded, because of the substantial amount of water that fell earlier this week.