Spring snowfall and heavy rain caused floods in southern Quebec on 3 May 2017. In total, 5,371 residences were flooded, 4,066 people were forced from their homes, and 261 municipalities were affected, largely in the Outaouais Region, the

Greater Montreal Area Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with ...

, the

Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. ...

, the Mauricie, the Gaspésie and the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...

regions. The floods were listed as the third most significant weather event of 2017 by the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. Montreal and Laval then declared a state of emergency over the flooding.

Background

While rising water levels due to melting snow and ice is common in the spring, cool weather and large spring snowstorms added to the issue. The

March 2017 North American blizzard The March 2017 North American blizzard was a major late-season blizzard that affected the Northeastern United States, New England and Canada, dumping up to of snow in the hardest hit areas, mainly New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Southern Q ...

added another 70 centimetres of snow along the Saint Lawrence River Valley. This issue was exacerbated by heavy rain in April and early May 2017. Montreal alone received 156 millimetres of rain in April, twice the monthly average and nearly beating the record of 159 mm from 2005.

First floods

In the beginning of April, rising temperatures led to melting snow, which increased water levels in the Chaudière River. On 10 April, Quebec Route 276 was briefly closed between

Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce is a city in the Municipalité régionale de comté Beauce-Centre in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and the population was 5,014 as of the Canada 2021 Census. The new city constitution dat ...

and

Saint-Joseph-des-Érables Saint-Joseph-des-Érables is a municipality in the Municipalité régionale de comté Beauce-Centre in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and the population is 377 as of 2021. Saint-Joseph-des-Érables lies on the we ...

due to flooding, and minor flooding was reported in communities in the watershed. In the Eastern Townships, several communities were affected by the floodwaters, closing roads in ten municipalities, including Danville, Lingwick,

Saint-Ludger Saint-Ludger is a municipality in the Le Granit Regional County Municipality in Beauce, Quebec, Canada, on the Canada–United States border. Population is 1,074 as of 2021. The municipality of Saint-Ludger was created in 1998 from the amalgamat ...

and

Ayer's Cliff Ayer's Cliff ( 2021 population 1,180) is a village municipality in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec. It is located just north of the Canada–United States border, on Lake Massawippi, near the mout ...

, with the communities of Asbestos and Weedon being the worst hit.

Major flooding

Mauricie

On 30 April, the level of the Saint-Maurice River began to rise, causing concern among the public. The rising floodwaters washed out portions of

Quebec Route 155 Route 155 is a north/south highway on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Its northern terminus is in Chambord at the junction of Route 169, and the southern terminus is the Piles Bridge in Shawinigan. Previously the ...

(one of the only links between the towns of

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 ...

and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

) and the road between La Tuque and the Atikamekw community of

Wemotaci Wemotaci (designated as Weymontachie 23 until 1997) is a First Nations reserve on the north shore of the Saint-Maurice River at the mouth of the Manouane River in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. Together with the Obedjiwan and the Coucou ...

. Route 155 remained closed to traffic until 8 May, when it was reopened to all but heavy vehicles. Until this point, people traveling between La Tuque and Trois-Rivieres needed to drive through the Saugenay Region, then down to Quebec City and Autoroute 40, which tripled the amount of travel time.

Outaouais

Flooding began in the Outaouais region on 20 April, when the Ottawa River flooded areas of

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

, while the

Petite-Nation River The Petite-Nation River is a river in western Quebec, Canada, that flows from the Laurentian Mountains to empty into the Ottawa River near Plaisance, Quebec. The river is in length. This river's French name refers to the Algonquin people that ...

flooded roads in the town of Saint-André-Avellin. Surrounding towns of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

, Cayamant, Duhamel, Gracefield, Montpellier and Waltham also experienced flooding, isolating some residents. Portions of

Quebec Autoroute 50 Autoroute 50 (Autoroute de l'Outaouais) is an Autoroute in western Quebec, Canada. It links Canada's National Capital Region ( Gatineau) and the Greater Montreal area ( Mirabel). Until November 2012, there were two distinct sections of A-50: ...

were flooded on 7 May after nearly two feet of rain over the proceeding two days. Emergency work by Transports Quebec reopened two lanes of the three-lane highway by 9 May. The closure of Autoroute 50 and surrounding flooding caused both the federal government and

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, ...

to close their offices in Gatineau, rather than have employees risk coming in. Transport Quebec closed several roads on 7 May, including the

Galipeault Bridge The Galipeault Bridge is a bridge on the western tip of the Island of Montreal, spanning the Ottawa River between Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and L'Île-Perrot, Quebec, L'Île-Perrot, Quebec, Canada. It carries four ...

, due to rising water levels. The Ottawa River crested on 8 May for most citizens in the Ottawa River Valley, specifically between Mattawa and

Hawkesbury, Ontario Hawkesbury is a Franco-Ontarian city in Prescott-Russell county in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The vast majority of its 10,550 inhabitants are francophone. The Long-Sault Bridge links it to Grenville, Quebec to the north. This bridge, crossing ...

. In Gatineau, the river reached a level of 45.08 meters, down 10 centimeters from previous reports. The local fire department in Gatineau rescued and evacuated approximately 533 people, with the Red Cross providing shelter for close to 1000. In Ottawa, Mayor Jim Watson said that 346 residences had been flooded in the city, with 90% of them found in

West Carleton-March Ward West Carleton-March Ward (Ward 5) is a city ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The ward was created for the 2000 election when West Carleton Township was amalgamated into the new city of Ottawa. At that time, the ward was called West Carleton Ward ...

. As of 10 May, the Canadian military had stationed 2,200 troops in Quebec, as well as dozens of military boats, helicopters, armoured vehicles and engineering equipment, and a naval frigate, .

Montérégie

Towns between Montreal and Ottawa, faced flooding near the end of April. This area is where the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence River meet, and includes

Lac Saint-Louis Lake Saint-Louis is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake. Lake St. Louis is a widening of the St. Lawrence River ...

Lac Saint-François Lake Saint Francis (french: lac Saint-François) is a lake which borders southeastern Ontario, southwestern Quebec and northern New York State. It is located on the Saint Lawrence River between Lake Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. The lake forms par ...

and

Lac des Deux-Montagnes Lake of Two Mountains (French: ''Lac des Deux Montagnes'') is part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada, at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. Lake of Two Mountains has four outflows: Rivière des Mille Îl ...

. The town of Rigaud declared a state of emergency on 20 April to deal with rising floodwaters, calling for the evacuation of 470 households.

Montreal

The hardest hit areas on the Island of Montreal were communities close to the

Rivière des Prairies The Rivière des Prairies (; ), called the Back River in English, is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The Kanien'kehá:ka called it ''Skowanoti'', meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the citi ...

, including

Pierrefonds-Roxboro Pierrefonds-Roxboro is a borough of the city of Montreal. It was created January 1, 2006, following the demerger of parts of the city. Geography It is composed of the former municipalities of Pierrefonds and Roxboro, spanning the northern par ...

and

L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève () is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal. History On 24 October 1678, the government of Louis de Buade de Frontenac granted Île Bizard, then named Île Bonaventure as a seigniory to Jacques ...

References

{{Reflist 2017 disasters in Canada Quebec floods 2017 in Quebec Floods in Canada May 2017 events in Canada Natural disasters in Quebec 2017 in Ottawa