Quebec premier tours flood-torn town in Charlevoix region

The latest:

• Police find body, believe it's one of the two missing firefighters.
• Quebec to offer support to displacedBaie-Saint-Paul residents.
• Highways 131 and 349 are closed in theLanaudireand Mauricie regions.

Quebec Premier Franois Legault is visiting the province's Charlevoix region, hit hard in recent days by spring flooding.

He is in Baie-Saint-Paul, about 95 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, where he is surveying the damage and meeting with residents.

Severe flooding this week washed away roads and cut off access to homes in regions across the province, forcing a half-dozen communities to declare states of emergency, according to the Quebec Public Security Ministry.

More than 500 people in Baie-Saint-Paul had to leave their homes after the level of the Rivire du Gouffre, which runs through the town, roseon Monday.

Residents faceeffectsof climate change, premier says

Legault said the government would look into what it could do in the short term to limit future infrastructure damage caused by climate change.

"Some people want to stay here, so we're going to have to see what we can do," he said."[Their home] isthe asset of their life and they see that right now,maybe,they won't be able to come back."

A meeting to inform residents aboutgovernment aid programs available will be held at the local arenaat 7 p.m. Thursday.

Yvette Simard met with Legault to ask for support. Sheshowed him a photo album she compiled of previous floods in the neighbourhood, including a serious one in 1936.

Shesaidtheflood this weekis the worst she and her family have seen in the more than 50 years she has been living in her home.Thecement on the front of her house has crumbled and her basement was flooded.

"My garden is no longer a garden anymore,"said Simard, looking over at her backyard. "We have never had it like this before."

Earlier Wednesday morning, Hlne Chardin, who is staying with friends after her house was evacuated,said this is the first time she's lived close enough to a river to see the effects of climate change firsthand.

"Unfortunately, I think we'll have to prepare for things of thismagnitude more often," she said.

Stphane Gagnon, anotherBaie-Saint-Paul resident, said he feels discouraged after the flooding, althoughthere is little he can do.

"It's a bit heavy, but you have to live with it," he said."You just have to see the damageand think of the families for whom today, material things aren't as important."

WATCH | Ferocious flooding in some parts of Quebec:

Drone footage of flooding in Baie-Saint-Paul, Que.

1 year ago

Duration 1:14

People have had to leave their homes and roads have been washed away in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting periods of snow today in Baie-Saint-Paul, which isexpected to change to rain around noon. Later today, the area could see up to two centimetres of snow and up to five millimetres of rain. Wind gusts are expected to blow between 30 km/h to 50 km/h.

Other communities affected by flooding are in the Lanaudire and Laurentians regions, and in western Quebec.

Missing firefighters

On Wednesday, provincial police confirmed they had found a body, and they believe it is one of the two firefighters who went missing this week.

The Sret du Qubec (SQ) said search efforts will continue to find the second firefighter who was swept away by floodwaters.

Highways remain closed, isolating residents

The closure of Route 131, which collapsed near Sainte-mlie-de-l'nergie, in Lanaudire, has isolated more than 5,000 people in Saint-Znon, Saint-Michel-des-Saints and Manawan.

The water levelhas risen on Route 349 in the Mauricie regionsincethe highwaywas shut down preventively Tuesdayevening.

It will remain closed indefinitely for safety reasons, Roxanne Pellerinof the Transport Ministry said in an email.

Almost six kilometres of the roadis underwater after more than 50 centimetresof rain fell. Transports Qubec (MTQ) has detected signs of erosion in at least two areas.

Residents of Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, also in theMauricie region, remain isolated and unable to enter or leave the town, except foremergency services.

Near the island of Montreal, the bridge between le Mercierand le-Bizard remains closed.

Louis-Roch Street, which connects the two islands (which are northwest of the island of Montreal)was closedTuesday night for safety reasons, according to the borough of L'le-Bizard.

The Lac des Deux Montagnesis under watch as water levels continued to rise.