French natives are turning out in droves in the Canadian province of Quebec to cast a ballot in France’s presidential runoff.

The French consul general in Montreal said more than 57,000 people registered to vote in the province, an overwhelming majority of them in Montreal.

READ MORE: French expats turn out in droves to vote in Montreal

In the first round of voting two weeks ago,long lines formed in Montreal as people waited to cast their vote.

While the presidential election in France takes place Sunday, those not in the country must vote Saturday.

READ MORE: Emmanuel Macron campaign emails leaked online days before French presidential vote

The presidential runoff pits centrist Emmanuel Macron and his pro-European vision against far-right Marine Le Pen and her protectionist views, which resonate with jobless workers.

Voting also took place Saturday elsewhere in Canada, including the French Embassy in Ottawa. Scarves and jackets were the dress code at voting stations on the French islands of Saint-Pierre and

Miquelon off the chilly northeastern coast of Canada.</s>Both Montreal and Laval declared states of emergency on Sunday amid rising floodwaters caused by days of steady rainfall.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said the order gives the city the power to more effectively and quickly address the situation. There will be mandatory evacuations in some areas, Coderre said.

"This is an historical moment," he told a news conference. "The most important thing for me is to help the people, help the citizens."

The state of emergency targets:

Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Île Bizard-Saint-Genevieve.

Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

Sainte-Anne de Bellevue and Senneville.

Heavy rain over the weekend could mean further flooding in the coming week and the area under state of emergency in Montreal could be expanded.

In Montreal, 179 residents have been evacuated from their homes. The flooding has also forced Sacré-Coeur Hospital in Ahuntsic to transfer 86 patients to a mental health hospital in Rivières-des-Prairies.

This comes as Transports Québec was forced to close several roads on Sunday night — including the Galipeault Bridge, a major artery that connects Île-Perrot to the island of Montreal — due to water accumulation.

This is what Pierrefonds looks like from above as flooding continues on Sunday, May 7. Submitted by Dominic Leduc. 0:51

Several municipalities declare state of emergency

Neighbouring Laval also declared a localized state of emergency. The city said 33 residents have been forced from their homes because of water as of Sunday afternoon.

Laval Mayor Marc Demers said the state of emergency would give them the power to remove people if they were at risk, but it would be used with prudence.

"It's an exceptional power that must be used with a lot of caution," said Demers. "But in certain cases it can be used. Our priority is the security of people."

The state of emergency targets several areas of the city including:

Laval-West.

Fabreville.

Laval-sur-le-Lac.

Sainte-Rose.

Demers added 400 blue collar workers were dispatched to help residents on Sunday to help residents who have flooded or were at risk.

A state of emergency was also declared in Pincourt, Saint-Eustache and Terrasse-Vaudreuil, as well as Rigaud, where firefighters have been going door-to-door Sunday afternoon telling residents to leave their homes.

Two men carry some belonings along a flooded street in the town of Rigaud west of Montreal. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

The Canadian Forces, meanwhile, announced it would add more troops to the province as residents struggled to keep water out of their homes.

There will be 1,200 troops on the ground by the end of Sunday, up from 400 last night, authorities said in a Sunday morning briefing.

More than 100 municipalities affected

Across Quebec, 146 municipalities are now considered part of flood zones, and the number of homes affected is in the thousands.

The worst-hit communities include those in western Quebec, such as Rigaud, Gatineau, and Hudson, and all along the the north shore of the Lake of Two Mountains, including Oka and Kanesatake.

More people leaving homes in Rigaud, some in unconventional ways... <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flood?src=hash">#Flood</a> <a href="https://t.co/Kgs23Hsj4y">pic.twitter.com/Kgs23Hsj4y</a> —@simon_nak

"I'm heartbroken. This is so sad," said Pina Bissi, a single mom who lives with her son and dog on Dieppe Street in the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, where three dikes were breached overnight.

"What are these families going to do? What am I going to do? I'm next. What am I going to do?"

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for several areas in the west of Quebec as well as an unseasonably cold frost warning that could see temperatures drop below freezing and snowfall in higher terrain across southern Quebec.​

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Flooding across the province

One of the hardest hit areas in the province is the region of Mauricie, where​ homes are flooded and residents are being forced from their homes.

Canadian Forces have been on the ground since Saturday night to provide assistance to the municipalities of Maskinongé, Yamachiche, Nicolet and Louiseville.

Quebec public security is also monitoring Highway 155 near La Tuque as water continues to rise.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, left, and 'Île Bizard Mayor Normand Marinacci walk through the flooded streets of Île Mercier earlier this week. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

The flooding appears to be easing in Eastern Quebec, where a storm surge warning has been called off for Percé. Water levels remain high, but the the small city near the tip of the Gaspé peninsula seems to have been spared from washouts.

Environment Canada warns that residents in low-lying areas may see some flooding.</s>After an early morning news conference advising calm, Mayor Denis Coderre has declared a 48-hour state of emergency for the island of Montreal.

“The city of Montreal is declaring a state of emergency due to flooding,” Coderre announced shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday. “This state of emergency is for the whole agglomeration of Montreal, and more particularly for the boroughs of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève, the town of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and the village of Senneville, for a period of 48 hours.”

The mayor said the decision was made after three dams gave way in Pierrefonds Sunday morning, and given the situation was worsening quickly in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, and water was expected to rise substantially Sunday and Monday.

He said a meeting of the authorities across the island will be held Tuesday to decide whether that state of emergency, which allows for forced evacuations of homes, will be prolonged for five more days, a situation the mayor indicated was likely.

Earlier, his tone was aimed at reassuring Montreal island residents that Montreal has the resources necessary and is prepared to handle the emergency, even as rain is predicted to continue and water levels in the St. Lawrence River to rise over the next few days.

A total of 173 homes had been evacuated on Monteal Island by Sunday morning, including all the homes on Île Mercier. Canadian Armed Forces personnel are setting up command posts in Rigaud, Laval and Pierrefonds.

At 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Rigaud Mayor Hans Gruenwald declared a state of emergency in that town at the junction of the Ottawa and Rigaud Rivers, where water levels have been rising for weeks. He ordered the mandatory evacuation of several sectors including: La Baie, La Pointe Seguin, Rigaud-sur-le-Lac, Rue Sauvé, Pointe à la Raquette. He estimated the evacuation order will affect about 125 homes.

He said residents are exhausted.

“It’s been three weeks that people have been fighting against Mother Nature and we are seeing the physical and moral capacity of people is really weakened, so I took the initiative…to declare evacuation,” Gruenwald told LCN.

And despite residents’ complaints in Pierrefonds that not enough sandbags have been available to them, Coderre said the situation there and across the island is under control.

“We can understand the frustration, but today we have all resources we need,” Coderre said. “Everyone … is in prevention mode. There is no issue in Pierrefonds of a lack of sandbags.”

The mayor noted that precipitation levels have reached the worst-case scenario of 20 millimetres (over the last 24 hours) that was forecast.

“We may have to reassess,” he said. The cleanup “may take a while, but the city of Montreal will be there for residents, before, during and after.”

But the mayor stressed that authorities are in “prevention mode” and not projecting ahead to cleanup plans yet, as more rain is in the forecast in the region for the next few days. The mayor said he has signed an order to city manager Alain Marcoux to release all funds necessary to deal with the emergency.

Meanwhile, the city’s 311 information line was down most of Sunday morning, and residents were advised to call 911 in case of emergency and address their questions and requests to the city using the information service’s email address: 311@ville.montreal.qc.ca

Just before 9 a.m., about 40 members of the Canadian Armed Forces in four trucks were on hand to rescue stranded Pierrefonds residents after a dike near Chateau-Pierrefonds burst.

Water levels have been rising steadily for the past five day in Pierrefonds-Roxboro. Borough Mayor Jim Beis encouraged residents to call 911 if water levels forced them to leave their homes, where they would be directed to Red Cross aid centres. Those who are in psychological distress were encouraged to call 811 to talk to a nurse with Info-Santé. The SPCA has offered free boarding of animals for residents forced from their homes in that borough.

“We are putting services in place to help our population on the ground and prepare for what is to come,” Beis said in a statement Sunday morning. “Know that we are with you all through this crisis and we will get through it together.”

The town of Hudson, just off the western tip of Montreal Island, also declared a state of emergency at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The Canadian military were on site there evaluating the situation and the Hudson Legion (394 Main St.) was opened to welcome those who were forced to leave their homes.

In Oka, about sixty residences were flooded and the city hall was flooded overnight Saturday. Mayor Pascal Quevillon said his request for army assistance has so far not been met, noting that pumping stations are no longer working. He estimates 1,000 residences – 3,000 people – should be evacuated.

The small town of Pontiac, about 45 kilometres east of Gatineau, had also requested the army’s help with sandbagging and transport. On Saturday afternoon, the town issued a mandatory evacuation order for a number of streets, saying police would control access to those streets and fire crews would assist those in need. It wasn’t clear how many people were affected in the town of more than 5,800 residents.

More than 400 Canadian Forces personnel were deployed Saturday to western and central Quebec on Saturday, with the number rising to 1,200 on Sunday, 70 of them on the island of Montreal. Of that number, 115 rolled into Gatineau Saturday night aboard a dozen armoured personnel carriers and tarp-covered trucks. Residents of 380 homes have left the Gatineau area and an evacuation recommendation prevailed for more than 900 others.

More than 130 Quebec communities have been hit by flooding, with an estimated 1,500 homes affected and 850 people forced to evacuate.

In Monteregie, the town of Rigaud is the most affected. The state of emergency has been in force for several days. Elsewhere in Montreal, many residents had to leave their homes on Ile Bizard and Ile Mercier, and Pierrefonds. In Ahuntsic-Cartierville, residences were also flooded. In Mauricie, the problem areas are Louiseville, Maskinonge, Yamachiche, and Shawinigan, among others.

In several affected municipalities, the electricity service had to be cut off. Tap water in flooded areas is still drinkable, as long as it is provided by the municipality. Those who get their drinking water from wells are urged to boil it for one minute before consuming.

With a temperature of 9 C and light rain falling downtown around 8:30 a.m., the forecast was for rain to continue Sunday through the rest of the week, with southwest winds from 30-50 km/h. Environment Canada issued a special weather statement just after 4 a.m. for the Montreal and Laval areas warning of cooler than usual temperatures and patchy frost over southern Quebec over the next few days, with possible flurries in the townships Sunday night.

Farther afield, a heroic sandbagging effort failed to prevent dozens of homes in the eastern Ontario village of Cumberland from being flooded.

In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick has taken the hardest hit with 100 millimetres of rain falling in some areas in just two days — and Environment Canada warns there’s more to come.

Emergency officials have been telling residents to stay away from the province’s waterways and watch out for washed-out roads. For more information on what to do in case of flooding, see the Preparing and Protecting Yourself information posted on the web portal of the Centre de sécurité civile.

In British Columbia, rain combined with warm temperatures that have accelerated the melting of the snowpack have resulted in flooding and mudslides throughout the province.

The City of West Kelowna declared a local state of emergency Saturday due to flooding, and some areas have been evacuated.

Dozens of properties north of Kelowna were also under an evacuation order due to flooding, while sections of the Trans-Canada Highway near Salmon Arm and Glacier National Park were closed due to mudslides.

Canadian Press and Presse Canadienne also contributed to this report.</s>Across the country, thousands of Canadians are spending the weekend in a desperate struggle with rising floodwaters caused by unusually persistent rainfall.

Montreal is the latest city in Quebec to declare a state of emergency after three dikes gave way in the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough, in the north end of the city by the Rivieres des Prairies. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said homes have been evacuated in that borough as well as on the two nearby islands.

In total, nearly 1,900 homes are flooded in 126 municipalities in the province.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Sunday that the military response to flooding in Quebec is likely to balloon.

"At the moment, since yesterday, there are 450 Canadian forces personnel on the ground in various locations across Quebec," Goodale told CTV's "Question Period."

"The expectation is that by the end of the day today that number will likely have tripled as the Canadian forces add more and more resources to assist the civilian authority in Quebec."

Coderre said earlier Sunday the city has 30 Canadian Forces personnel helping firefighters and other emergency responders with the flood response.

"We have over 100 firemen who are working 24 hours a day, visiting door to door and making some evacuations," he said.

West of Montreal, the small town of Rigaud issued a mandatory evacuation order Sunday and a state of emergency has been in place for several days.

Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr. told reporters at a town hall that firefighters will be going door to door to make sure people in the affected areas leave their homes.

"We will follow the fire department and actually remove the people if need be," Gruenwald said. "Because it is either that or services will be stuck to remove those people under a state of emergency at two o'clock in the morning on a stretcher -- I'm sorry but we are not going to go there."

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard visited the town Saturday and urged people to heed authorities if they recommend they leave their homes.

Meanwhile, Goodale said no other province has so far requested military help, but forces personnel, including reserves, are on stand-by across the country.

The situation in Ontario seems to be "generally stabilizing," although there are many unstable local circumstances, he said.

Rob Kuhn, an Environment Canada meteorologist based in Toronto, said Sunday that eastern Ontario saw the most rainfall in the province. He added that upward of 80 millimetres of rain fell between Friday and Sunday morning in the Trenton area.

In Atlantic Canada, some parts of New Brunswick recorded more than 150 millimetres of rain after a nearly 36 hour non-stop downpour.

A weather station northeast of Saint John, N.B., measured 155 millimetres of precipitation from late Friday to early Sunday, Environment Canada meteorologist Stephen Fougere said Sunday, adding that surrounding areas had up to 125 millimetres.

While the deluge has tapered off in the province, New Brunswick's St. John River is spilling its banks, prompting several road closures.

"It's above flood stage in several areas from Fredericton down south," Robert Duguay, a spokesman with the province's emergency measures organization. "Water levels are going to stay high probably for the rest of the week."

Without the added risk of snow melt or ice pack on the river from up north, he said the situation is under control with only minor flooding.

Still, Duguay said a shift in weather patterns could quickly change the situation. Waterways remain extremely precarious, he said, and people who get too close are at risk of being swept away by fast-moving water.

In British Columbia, rain combined with warm temperatures have accelerated the melting of the snowpack, which has resulted in flooding and mudslides throughout the province.

--With files by Nicole Thompson in Toronto and Brett Bundale in Halifax.</s>Torrential rain causes severe flooding across eastern Canada, at least 1,900 homes have been flooded in Quebec.

Heavy rain from a weather system has caused widespread flooding across eastern Canada, with a state of emergency being declared in Montreal.

The weather system is the same one which brought severe storms to parts of the southern US and flooding to the eastern seaboard. Flooding was from North Virginia to New York and New Jersey.

That same weather system, containing a mass of moisture-laden air originating in the Gulf of Mexico, has now moved across eastern Canada.

There had been concerns about the potential for flooding across the region, following one of the wettest Aprils in many years, plus the effect of snowmelt. The level of Lake Ontario was already at a 20 year high.

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Now Montreal, which lies on the northwestern shore of the lake has been inundated following a deluge of at least 80mm of rain between Friday and Sunday.

Flooding is now a concern all the way from Toronto and Lake Ontario downstream along the St Lawrence River.

The Ministry of Public Safety said waters were expected to crest sometime Monday in Quebec province.

Rising floodwaters prompted Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre to declare a state of emergency on Sunday afternoon. This was expected to remain in force for 48 hours.

Officials in Toronto are also monitoring the situation with the city’s mayor, John Tory saying that homes on Ward’s Island were, "potentially in jeopardy" if more rain falls.

New evacuations were carried out in Pierrefonds on the northwestern shore of the Island of Montreal as water levels rose rapidly following the breaching of three dykes.

The heaviest rainfall seems to have been in New Brunswick, where a weather station northeast of Saint John recorded 155mm of rain between late Friday and the early hours of Sunday.

At least 1,900 homes have been flooded in Quebec alone, and more than 1,000 residents have been affected.

Around 1,200 Canadian Forces personnel have been drafted in to help with relief efforts.

Harjit Sajjan, defence minister, was quoted as saying: "Our troops are responding quickly and professionally and are already beginning to deliver critical support to Canadians affected by the flooding."

The rainfall situation is improving across the region, with the heaviest of the rain confined to the northern shoreline of the St Lawrence River and the Ile d'Anticosti.

On the other side of the country, days of heavy rain in British Columbia have caused flooding and a landslide, which is believed to have claimed two lives. Here, too, the worst is thought to be over.</s>A state of emergency has been declared in the Canadian city of Montreal due to flooding caused by torrential rains and melting snow.

The measure was declared on Sunday afternoon and will remain in place for 48 hours, city officials said.

Across the province of Quebec, in Canada's east, nearly 1,900 homes have already been flooded across 126 towns and cities, authorities say.

Some 1,200 troops have reportedly been deployed to help evacuate people.

"Our troops are responding quickly and professionally and are already beginning to deliver critical support to Canadians affected by the flooding," Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said.

The emergency was declared in Montreal after three dikes gave way in the city's north.

The town of Rigaud, west of Montreal, has been particularly hard hit and a state of emergency has also been declared there.

The mayor has ordered mandatory evacuations in flood zones.

"People had to be evacuated, and we put them in boats and they are crying like babies," said Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr.

"I am sorry, they are at a point where now they are not in a position to decide anymore their own future."

The flooding is not limited to Quebec, and unusually high rainfall has also caused flooding in the province of Ontario.

Lake Ontario has reached a water level not seen since 1993 in southern Ontario, the Canadian Press news agency says.

Warmer temperatures has also caused snow to melt in British Columbia in Canada's west, combining with the rain to cause flooding and mudslides.</s>About 1,200 military personnel have been deployed to support emergency services responding to the flooding.

In a statement on Sunday announcing the 48-hour state of emergency, the city of Montreal said forecasts suggested that the situation would not be short-lived.

Environment Canada was warning that water levels in the Rivière des Prairies were expected to rise by 20 centimeters overnight, weakening dikes, breakwaters and dams set up in key areas to prevent water infiltration, the statement said.

At least 180 homes had been evacuated, the city said, and the Red Cross was providing shelter to those residents forced out.

"Montreal is in the middle of an exceptional and historic circumstance owing to an unprecedented rise in water levels causing flooding. The safety of residents remains our biggest priority, and that's why I declared the state of emergency," Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said. "I ask all residents affected by the flooding to collaborate by following the recommendations and abiding by the decisions made now and as we move forward. I strongly urge residents of Île Mercier and other residents whose safety cannot be ensured by emergency services to comply with the evacuation order," he said. The state of emergency applies to the areas of Ahuntsic--Cartierville; Île-Bizard--Sainte-Geneviève; Pierrefonds-Roxboro; Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue; and Senneville. A state of emergency was also declared in the city of Laval, north of Montreal, by Mayor Marc Demers. "We applaud the concerted efforts of everyone helping out on site who are sparing no energy to come to the assistance of the flood victims; however, considering all possible impacts on Laval residents' safety and their belongings, we are declaring a local state of emergency today in order to make sure that no resources will be neglected to provide all help requested," Mayor Demers said in a statement. Emergency workers went door-to-door Sunday advising residents of Laval's Île-Verte and Île-Roussin to evacuate. Residents transport supplies by boat in the Ile-Mercier district of Ile-Bizard, Quebec, Friday. CNN Meteorologist Michael Guy said rain was forecast to continue falling over eastern Canada for the next five days. "They could see upwards of another 25 to 50 mm of rain (1 to 2 inches) with localized heavier amounts possible up to 75 mm (3 inches). So unfortunately -- not much relief in sight," Guy said. He said some radar estimates showed that the region had already had 250 to 350 mm of rain (10 to 14 inches) over the past week. #CAF deploys to assist civilian authorities with the management of flooded areas in Quebec. #OpLENTUS https://t.co/cNXV3F5IHP pic.twitter.com/nl9Yi4AUeT — Canadian Forces (@CanadianForces) May 7, 2017 In a statement posted on his Facebook page Sunday, Mayor Coderre paid tribute to those working together to protect Montreal. "Thank you to all our services and our personnel who are dedicated body and souls for our citizens. Thank you to our firefighters, blue collar workers, white collar workers, police officers, district directors, those responsible for water supplies, etc.. for your magnificent contribution, Solidarity and Professionalism. Thank you also to our Armed Forces for their presence and expertise," he wrote in French. Coderre said the situation was under control and the emergency response would be adapted to meet any changes in circumstance. An additional 800 troops joined more than 400 personnel in the Saint-Jean sur Richelieu, Shawinigan, Laval and Gatineau areas Sunday, according to a statement from the Canadian Armed Forces. Aviation assets, engineer assets, and 12 boats from the Naval Reserve, were also involved in the emergency response, it said.</s>Two men in a boat navigate a flooded street in Rigaud, west of Montreal on Sunday. Rising flood waters threatened dikes and breakwaters and forced residents from their homes in parts of Canada's Quebec province.</s>
• With water levels still rising on Monday, additional Canadian military personnel have been deployed in Quebec’s vast flood zone to help exhausted residents cope.
• A family tragedy struck in Quebec’s Gaspé peninsula Sunday night after a vehicle with three people inside, including a two-year-old child, drifted into a river and flipped over. The child’s mother was able to swim to shore but the father and baby girl are missing.
• Montreal is in a state of emergency Monday after three dikes collapsed in the north end of the city over the weekend.
• Some federal employees were advised not to go to work on Monday because of the flooding in Gatineau, Que.
• Quebec’s Public Safety Minister, Martin Coiteux, said the flooding is expected to hit its peak over the next few days and begin receding mid-week.
• Adding frigid insult to wet injury, Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario were expected to see frost on Monday, Environment Canada warned. Check the latest forecast for your area here.

The facts on the ground

Keep up to date on the latest road closings, evacuations and other information with Urgence Québec’s Twitter feed below. 



As of Monday, the rains had flooded 2,426 residences in Quebec, forcing the evacuation of 1,520 people in almost 150 municipalities, from Quebec’s border with Ontario to the Gaspé peninsula in the east.

One of the hardest-hit communities is Gatineau, Que., across the border with Ontario. As of Sunday, 380 residences were evacuated and officials wanted to evacuate another 900 homes. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said about 220 people in that city had been evacuated from their homes.

Ontario: Eastern Ontario saw the most rainfall in the province, Rob Kuhn, an Environment Canada meteorologist based in Toronto, told The Canadian Press on Sunday. He added that upward of 80 millimetres of rain fell between Friday and Sunday morning in the Trenton area. Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the Ontario government had requested “additional flood mitigation resources” to help in its battle against the flooding and that support would be provided, but deployment of Canadian Forces personnel was not part of the request.

Atlantic Canada: Some parts of New Brunswick recorded more than 150 millimetres of rain after a nearly 36 hour non-stop downpour over the weekend. While the deluge tapered off in the province early Sunday, New Brunswick’s St. John River spilled its banks, prompting several road closings.

British Columbia: Warm temperatures and heavy rainfall in the B.C. Interior have contributed to overflowing waterways and destructive mudslides across significant portions of the province’s south. On Monday, authorities were still searching for two missing men: A 59-year-old fire chief in Cache Creek and a 76-year-old man whose home north of Salmon Arm was engulfed in a mudslide Saturday.

What Ottawa is doing

Military: The federal Defence Department said that about 800 additional troops were deployed in Quebec on Sunday, joining more than 400 Canadian Armed Forces members already assisting with the flood effort in the province. Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Larose said about 400 members of the Canadian Forces were deployed between Gatineau and Rigaud, and another 550 in the Montreal area including its northern suburb of Laval.

Federal workers: The Treasury Board announced it would be closing government offices in Gatineau on Monday, and encouraged government employees to work from home if they regularly commute over the bridges between Ontario and Quebec.

Moral support: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited a flood-affected area on Sunday in Terrasse-Vaudreuil, just west of Montreal.

What the province and cities are doing

Quebec: The province is co-ordinating a massive emergency response as the flooding is closing roads and forcing communities to fortify themselves with sandbags. Environment Minister David Heurtel called the flooding historic on Monday, but added that there were “encouraging signs” in the Outaouais region, where water levels were rising more slowly than before. 



Cities: On Sunday, Montreal declared a state of emergency after three dikes gave way in the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough. West of Montreal, the small town of Rigaud issued a mandatory evacuation order Sunday and a state of emergency has been in place for several days. Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr. told reporters at a town hall that firefighters would be going door to door to make sure people in the affected areas leave their homes.

The 30-year average for April rainfall in Ontario and Quebec is about 80 millimetres. This year’s accumulation was almost exactly double that; more rain, hence more floods. The current crisis already began as more localized events last month; several towns in the Outaouais region of Quebec and in low-lying areas around Montreal began evacuating families two weeks ago.

What will this all cost?

With the disaster still ongoing, it’s too soon to get a complete estimate of how much damage the flood has caused. For comparison, the 2013 floods in southern Alberta – the costliest Canadian flooding disaster in documented history – left about $1.7-billion in insured damage, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

The costliest disaster in Quebec’s history to date is the 1998 ice storm, which also affected Eastern Ontario and parts of Atlantic Canada. In total, that storm caused $1.5-billion in damage.

With a report from Sean Gordon and Evan Annett

MORE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL</s>OTTAWA: The Canadian army has begun to deploy in eastern Canada, where flooding from heavy rain forced new evacuations on Saturday ahead of peak floods expected on Monday or Tuesday.

Water levels continued to rise on Saturday from Toronto and Lake Ontario up to 500 kilometers (300 miles) downstream of the St. Lawrence River, especially in Quebec province, where some 400 troops have been dispatched.

The worst is yet to come, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard warned on Saturday.

"The water will continue rising over the next two or three days," he said after visiting the town of Rigaud, east of Montreal, which has been flooded for more than a week.

The government ordered the troop deployment on Friday.

"Our troops are responding quickly and professionally, and are already beginning to deliver critical support to Canadians affected by the flooding," Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said on Saturday.

Torrential rains have added to runoff from melting snow that has caused rivers to overflow their banks, posing a critical situation from Ottawa to Montreal.

The emergency services warned that rising waters would reach regions east of Montreal, where precipitation by Sunday night could reach between 90 and 125 millimeters (3.5 to 5 inches).

Near the Atlantic, the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization warned residents to remain on alert until Monday, saying water levels are near or above flood stage in many regions and expected to rise.

In Quebec, the province hardest hit by the flooding, more than 1,500 homes have been flooded in 121 towns and cities and nearly 1,000 people evacuated, the emergency services said.

"I understand people are reluctant to leave their homes," Couillard said, "but if you´re asked, do it for your own safety."
A state of emergency is declared in Montreal, Canada as 1,200 Canadian Forces personnel are deployed in the province of Quebec to help with rising floodwaters. 146 communities are affected and more than 1,500 residents have been evacuated from their homes.