Rainfall warning issued for southwestern Quebec as flooding touches homes further east

A rainfall warning is in effect for most of southwestern Quebec, and Environment Canada says that rain could provoke some flooding.

The rain iscurrently affecting regions from the Eastern Townships to Charlevoix, with between 25 to 40 millimetres expected to fall over the next two days.

Other regions, including Montreal,Lanaudire andVaudreuil-Soulanges will also be touched.

"The ground is already near saturation and has little ability to absorb further rainfall. As a result, the levels of some rivers may rise," the warning reads.

Low-lying areas are most susceptible to localized flooding, the agency said.

"Thesequantities [of rain] willcause some rivers to rise, which can aggravate the situations in some cases of unresolved flooding," the private water-level monitoring firm Hydro-Mto wroteon its websiteSaturday.

Some flooding further east

Further east, rain and snow melt in the Beauce and the Gasp have already flooded some homes.

In the town of Sainte-Marie, in the Beauce region, dozens of families were forced out of their homes yesterday.

According to Amlie Turgeon fromHydro-Mto, things in the region will likely get worse.

"We suspect that the flood situation's going to be more important," she said Saturday.

But the agency saidQuebecers won't experience anything close to the flooding that occurred at this time last year.

There's also been some minor flooding in the Laurentians.