St. Lawrence overflows onto Quebec City streets following storm

The St. Lawrence River overflowed its banksin Quebec City and across the river, in Lvis,following the major winter storm that swept through southern and central Quebec Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday.

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The water rose quickly this morning, flooding Champlain Boulevard in the vicinity of Quebec's Old Portwith water and ice.

The boulevard, a major roadway,is closed between Dalhousie Street near the Old Portand GilmourHill. Quebec City police are asking drivers to avoid the area.

No water seeped into the Muse de la Civilisation on Dalhousie Street, however, the museum has beenclosed for the day.

The owners of some vehicles that had been in a neighbourhood parking lot rushed to the scene to try to get their cars out of the area before it became unnavigable.

Home evacuated in Montmorency

In the neighbourhood of Montmorency, firefighters are on the scene to deal with flooding near MontmorencyFalls and on Sainte-AnneBoulevard in the vicinity of107th and 108th streets, not far from the bridge leading to le d'Orlans.

A family had to be evacuated from a home in that area, and the Red Cross is on site, Quebec city firefighters said on twitter.

On the other side of the river, the streets in several neighbourhoods in the city of Lvis are also flooding, including the Chemin du Fleuve near Lvis's city hall.

Quebec's Transport Ministry said the flooding is expected to gradually recede.

The ferry running between Quebec city and Lvis has also been cancelled until further notice due to the weather conditions.