Michael Simeonidis’s clothes were still hanging where they were left to dry from the last flood when they got soaked again.
The Montreal resident was woken up at 5:30 a.m. by his water alarm to discover his basement on Norman Street in Montreal’s northwestern Saint-Laurent borough had been flooded for the second time in a month.
“It’s not so bad,” he said standing in about 30 centimetres of water. “I mean it’s bad, but it’s not so bad because there’s no furniture. Everything was destroyed the first time — July 10.”
That’s when the sewer at the end of his street was overwhelmed as remnants of Hurricane Beryl passed through. On Friday morning, it struggled to cope with the remnants of tropical storm Debby.
Another resident, Jimmy Plaitias, says flooding has become a yearly occurrence for Norman Street residents.
“We go to the city every year. We email them, we make our claims and they don’t take responsibility,” he said. “We need help.”
His insurance went from $1,800 to $5,500 and no longer covers sewage backup water, he says.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECC) has issued a rainfall warning for all of southern Quebec. Some areas, such as Berthierville—Saint-Gabriel in the Lanaudière, are expected to received up to 120 millimetres of rainfall by Saturday.
A total of 70 to 100 millimetres of rain is expected for the island of Montreal area Friday. The city’s rainfall average for the whole month of August stands at 94.1 millimetres.
“It does taper through the night so that it’s clear of the Montreal region by Saturday morning,” said Jennifer Smith, ECC national warning preparedness meteorologist.
The remnants of Hurricane Debby hit Quebec on Friday, bringing torrential rains that flooded roads in Montreal.
Saint-Laurent Mayor Alan DeSousa says the borough saw about 40 millimetres of rain this morning.
“It’s been a very busy morning,” he said. Norman Street has not been the borough’s only problem. He says the City of Montreal needs to look into why the area is so susceptible to flooding.
Some residents, including Plaitias, met with DeSousa Tuesday but say they weren’t given much support. DeSousa, for his part, says one of the options they have is to make the claim with the city.
“This was not an act of God,” he said, blaming it instead on the city’s infrastructure.
Transport Ministry spokesperson Louis-André Bertrand says localized flooding due to the storm is mostly affecting Montreal for now. The weather system will continue to track northeast across Quebec through Saturday, bringing heavy rain along with it.
Bertrand said Highway 40, near Côte-de-Liesse Road, and Highway 13 northbound were affected. Teams are on the ground to pump water back into the sewer system.
“This is an extraordinary amount of rain,” he said. “No sewer system can take that.”
Bertrand said the agency focused on clearing roads of debris in the lead-up to the storm to facilitate drainage.
The downtown Montreal shelter Resilience is also experiencing flooding, according to a post on X by Na’kuset of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal.
A spokesperson for the city said Montreal has been alerted to some flooded underpasses as well, noting that the best protection against basement flooding is a backwater valve.
The spokesperson said they hope sponge parks and other flood-curbing measures will help Montreal become more resilient to the increasing number of rainfall events.
Event cancellations in Quebec City and Montreal
The rainy and windy forecast has led to event cancellations in Quebec City.
Comedy festival ComediHa! Fest is cancelling its outdoor shows hosted by Phil Roy scheduled for later Friday evening.
Music festival Cigale also announced the cancellation of artist Loud’s show, which was scheduled for 7 p.m. at Quebec City’s Old Port.
Strong winds and heavy showers threaten the safety of its stage crew, the festival said in a Facebook post Thursday.
Pride Montreal has also decided to cancel all of its outdoor events Friday, which included its Community Day on Ste-Catherine Street East and drag evening at the Olympic Stadium. The festival’s indoor events will go on as scheduled.