{"id":611188,"date":"2026-04-17T23:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/611188\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T23:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:14:14","slug":"from-manitoba-to-quebec-canadians-prepare-for-spring-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/611188\/","title":{"rendered":"From Manitoba to Quebec, Canadians prepare for spring flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Communities from Quebec to Manitoba are preparing for potential spring flooding<\/a>, with officials distributing sandbags to protect homes from rising water and warning about possible evacuations.<\/p>\n

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Northwest of Montreal in St-J\u00e9r\u00f4me, Que., officials closed a bridge to traffic because of the rising Rivi\u00e8re du Nord, which snakes through the city of 80,000 residents. They\u2019ve also distributed more than 2,300 sandbags to people who live by the water.<\/p>\n

\u00c9lisabeth \u00c9mond with the St-J\u00e9r\u00f4me mayor\u2019s office said Thursday that the city is almost certain to see water levels that could cause major flooding. She said officials on Wednesday closed the Viau bridge, because the river had reached the lower part of the span.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as the floodwater reaches the bridge structure, we are required to close access for safety reasons,\u201d \u00c9mond said, adding that reopening would require approval from the province\u2019s Transport Department.<\/p>\n

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St-J\u00e9r\u00f4me is among several municipalities across Quebec facing flooding.<\/p>\n

Environment Canada said parts of southern Quebec had received up to 40 millimetres of rain since the start to the week, and forecasts are calling for more.<\/p>\n

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In Ontario, flood warnings were in effect across a large swath of the south by Lake Huron, stretching from Sault Ste. Marie to Peterborough.<\/p>\n

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The municipality of Central Manitoulin, located on an island in Lake Huron, was hit particularly hard.<\/p>\n

City officials declared a state of emergency and warned residents to use extreme caution when travelling, as multiple roads were closed. A water advisory was also put in place.<\/p>\n

Mindemoya Hospital, one of the island\u2019s only hospitals, closed Wednesday after flooding affected its water and sewer services.<\/p>\n

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In Manitoba, Premier Wab Kinew donned a Toronto Blue Jays hat and a safety vest to pack sandbags and meet volunteers at Peguis First Nation on Thursday. The community north of Winnipeg is dealing with the threat of rising water from the Fisher River.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is a race to try and protect the homes in this community,\u201d Kinew told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that the community has rallied together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinew also visited operation sites and a home where volunteers were setting up sandbags. He stopped for photos with residents.<\/p>\n

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Flood preparations there began last week, after the First Nation was warned it could see water levels similar to those in 2022, when roughly 2,000 residents were forced out and hundreds of homes were damaged.<\/p>\n

In Quebec, Environment Canada spokesperson Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rick Boulay said the province\u2019s southern zone \u2014 from Gatineau to the Lanaudi\u00e8re region \u2014 was forecast to receive 10 to 15 mm of rain on Friday, followed by another 15 to 30 mm between Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u00c9mond said the Rivi\u00e8re du Nord had exceeded the height of the Viau bridge in recent years, \u201cbut we aren\u2019t there yet,\u201d noting that spring flooding has become more frequent and is worrying. \u00c9mond said no evacuations had been planned as of yet.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFlooding prevention and risks\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Boulay said a combination of snowmelt, rainfall and ice breakup can all contribute to flooding risk, while a river\u2019s shape and slope also play a role in whether waterways overflow.<\/p>\n

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Flood watches were in effect for several rivers across Quebec, including in the Lanaudi\u00e8re, Outaouais, Laurentians and Quebec City regions, with minor flooding already reported in some areas.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from The Canadian Press\u2019s Steve Lambert in Peguis First Nation and Kathryn Mannie in Toronto<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Communities from Quebec to Manitoba are preparing for potential spring flooding, with officials distributing sandbags to protect homes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66,230210,1133],"class_list":{"0":"post-611188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-spring-flooding","13":"tag-weather"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}