Quebec City woman among 2 missing after flood, landslide in town near Saguenay, Que. - Action News
Home WebMail Thursday, November 14, 2024, 08:03 PM | Calgary | 0.9°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Montreal

Quebec City woman among 2 missing after flood, landslide in town near Saguenay, Que.

The search for two missing people continues Monday after the town of Rivire-ternit, Que., was hit by flooding and landslides over the weekend.

Search continues for 2 missing people, both in their 40s

collapsed road
Landslides and flooding caused Route 170 to collapse. (Rmi Tremblay/Radio-Canada)

The search for two missing people continues Monday after a town in Quebec's SaguenayLac-Saint-Jean regionwas hit by flooding and landslides over the weekend.

The town ofRivire-ternit,about 260 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, has been in a state of emergency since Saturday.

Relatives confirmed to Radio-Canada that one of thosemissingis Pascale Racine, who lives in Quebec City. The woman in her 40s was travelling in the region with her husband, who survivedbut had to be hospitalized with serious injuries.

The Sret du Qubec(SQ) is still looking for Racine and another man in his 40s who were swept away by the landslide.Divers, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters are assisting in the search.

About 200camperswere evacuated from a nearby provincial park on Sunday afternoon, via shuttle and helicopter.

a woman taking a selfie
Relatives confirmed to Radio-Canada that Pascale Racine from Quebec City is one of those missing following a landslide in Rivire-ternit. (Pascale Racine/Facebook)

No new evacuations were necessary as of Monday, said the mayor of Rivire-ternit, Rmi Gagn. He said 47 people, including six children, still cannot return home.

Emergency crews have to check the state of the town's septic tanks and basements before allowing residents to come back. The town does also not currently have access to safedrinking water.

Route 170 will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time, Gagn said. Meanwhile, safety crews are working to open a detour route for emergency vehicles only, which should be open by the end of Tuesday.

"Iam with you wholeheartedly," saidGagnat a news conference Monday. "All our decisions are to ensure everyone's safety."

SQ spokesperson Hugues Beaulieu said there is a lot of work to be done to restore the town's roads, which are damaged and full of debris.

He said the river's tides swelled up to four times its typical height during heavy rainfall over the weekend, causing it to overflow and flood the town.