CALEB NICKERSON

PONTIAC May 8, 2019

The flooding over the past few weeks has affected many municipalities in the region in a variety of ways, from damaged infrastructure to evacuated homes.

Up in Thorne, Mayor Karen Kelly said that some cottages had wet basements and some roads were temporarily impassable, but for the most part her municipality was spared. The area contains portions of the Quyon River as well as many lakes, so low-lying areas were cut off at times.

“The road men were working very, very hard to make sure that there was nobody stranded,” she said, noting that only one resident was isolated by water temporarily, but had neighbours checking up on them.

There were a few washouts that had to be repaired by municipal crews, and one on Bryson Road was delayed by a brazen act of thievery.

“It was a two piece culvert and one piece was sitting on the edge of the road waiting for our guys to come along and someone stole it,” Kelly explained.

She added that the washout on chemin Laughren in nearby Clarendon was affecting some residents, but for the most part, it was business as usual.

“It’s pretty wild, we’re not used to it here,” she said. “But I mean, compared to everyone else, we’ve been incredibly lucky.”

Bristol’s waterfront cottage communities were hit hard by the flooding, and several roads were impassable to all but trucks, but Director General Christina Peck estimated that there were around 160 properties affected by the rising water.

“There were some in Pontiac Station, some Pine Lodge and Haughton’s Bay, but mostly Norway Bay,” she said. “There were some people who chose to leave their properties but there were no forced evacuations.”

She added that there were a few washouts on roads further north, but they were repaired in short order.

In the Municipality of Pontiac, some Quyon residents were allowed to return to their homes on May 4, after being evacuated at the start of the week. The municipality was still under a state of emergency on May 5, and in an update released on their Facebook page, officials urged residents of the village to avoid drinking the water due to a technical problem at the water treatment plant.

Area schools re-opened this week and the Quyon Ferry returned to regular service after halting river crossings last week.

Reached on May 6, Mansfield et Pontefract Mayor Gilles Dionne said that the community of Davidson was one of the hardest hit sectors in his municipality. He added that the water seemed to be receding along the Coulonge River, but it would be quite some time before things returned to normal.

“It’s going down but not fast enough,” he said.

Director General Eric Rochon said that though the local high school had been set up to take in evacuees overnight, residents opted to stay elsewhere.

“We were ready for 200,” he said. “We set up 40 beds but the rush never came.”

“Right now we have four rooms that are rented out for evacuees that didn’t have anywhere to go,” he continued. “Most of them are staying at friends places, with family, stuff like that.”

Rochon said that at the peak, the municipality had 155 houses, 174 cottages and 5 businesses inundated.

On Allumettes Island, the municipality put out a release on May 2 that urged residents to wait until the water had fully receded before removing their sandbags. The statement added that the municipality is preparing for increased garbage and construction waste in the coming weeks and would soon be releasing information about the availability of the local transfer sites.

Urgence Quebec had a running tally for each municipality in the province, and the following are the results from May 6:

Alleyn et Cawood – Flooded homes: 7

Allumettes Island– Flooded homes: 51, Isolated Homes: 6, People evacuated: 36

Bristol – People evacuated: 3

Campbell’s Bay – Flooded homes: 14, Isolated Homes: 13, People evacuated: 23

Chichester – Flooded homes: 12, Isolated Homes: 4, People evacuated: 4

Clarendon – Flooded homes: 12

Fort Coulonge – Flooded homes: 73, People evacuated: 210

Grand Calumet Island – Flooded homes: 15, People evacuated: 27

Litchfield – Isolated Homes: 7

Mansfield et Pontefract – Flooded homes: 328, Isolated Homes: 31, People evacuated: 338

Municipality of Pontiac – Flooded homes: 164, Isolated Homes: 15, People evacuated: 199

Portage du Fort – Flooded homes: 1

Rapides des Joachims– Flooded homes: 3

Sheenboro– Flooded homes: 1, Isolated Homes: 5, People evacuated: 2

Waltham– Flooded homes: 32, Isolated Homes: 2, People evacuated: 33

Total for Pontiac region – Flooded homes: 713, Isolated Homes: 83, People evacuated: 875

Total for Outaouais– Flooded homes: 2,038, Isolated Homes: 274, People evacuated: 3,236