Torrential rains north of Montreal wreck roads, cut off citizens

Torrential rains over the past few hours have damaged some twenty sections of road in Chertsey, in the Lanaudière region, while four sectors have left more than a hundred citizens landlocked.

Torrential rains over the past few hours have damaged some twenty sections of road in Chertsey, in the Lanaudière region, while four sectors have left more than a hundred citizens landlocked.

The municipality of Chertsey, about 90 kilometres north of Montreal, took stock on Monday morning of the 120 millimetres of rain that fell on its territory over the past 36 hours.

The northern part of the municipality was the hardest hit, said Chertsey Mayor Michelle Joly.

She added that 90 per cent of landlocked residents should have access to a passable road by 6 p.m. "if all goes well".

"The objective is to restore access (to the roads) to all our citizens, so that they can get around," said Chertsey's general manager, Marc-André Plante, on Monday morning. "It's quite exceptional, in late June, for there to be precipitation and for us to be managing so many situations."

Joly recalled that the municipality of some 5,500 inhabitants has 347 kilometres of roads and 110 lakes.

"We expect further damage in the coming days," she added.