A state of emergency has been declared in Canada’s Ottawa by the mayor all because of the heavy rains and ever-increasing flood waters.
While homes have not been evacuated yet, authorities believe that waters along the Ottawa River may rise even above levels of that seen in 2017 which was the worst flooding in East Canada in at least five decades.
Not only this, in Quebec, an hydroelectric dam on the Rouge River overflowed, resulting in an emergency evacuation of some 50 homes.
Due to its risk of breaking the banks, an alert was sounded for communities downriver. The Rouge River feeds into the eastern side of Ottawa River.
A special weather statement has been issued by Environment Canada which forecasts about 35 mm of rainfall by Saturday morning. Combined with the melted snow which feeds the river, waters are all set to rise by 11 cm above peak levels seen in May 2017.
Montreal is expected to see 30-50 mm of rainfall wherein rains will begin over Southern Quebec and spread towards the east.
Along with authorities, armed forces have also been asked to join in and help fill sandbags. As per the mayor, it was not possible for them to do it alone due to which the troops were called in.
Along with the capital Ottawa, suburban areas are also at risk which include the regions of Britannia, Cumberland, as well as Constance Bay.