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Quebec municipalities hit by remnants of tropical storm Debby face months of cleanup

Aug 12, 2024 | 12:23 PM

MONTREAL — Quebec municipalities hit by the remnants of tropical storm Debby say they’re looking at months of recovery.

The mayors of La Macaza and St.-Lin-Laurentides, which have both declared states of emergency, say they’ve never seen anything like the torrential rain that battered their communities Friday.

They say it will take months to repair the damage to roads from flooding that was so bad it left hundreds of people temporarily stranded in their homes.

Mathieu Maisonneuve, mayor of St.-Lin-Laurentides, about 65 kilometres north of Montreal, says he’s barely slept since Friday and worries that Quebec isn’t prepared for extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent.

The Public Security Department says 52 Quebec municipalities were affected by the record rainfall and eight have declared states of emergency, with about 347 people still evacuated.

On Sunday, Quebec provincial police said they had recovered the body of a man in his 80s who was swept into the Batiscan River on Friday in the province’s Mauricie region.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press