Torrential rain battered Montreal, leaving parts of the city soaked and residents exhausted and frustrated as crews worked to clear the water. According to the coverage, some areas were hit with a staggering volume of rain in just a few hours, overwhelming streets and homes and causing widespread disruption across the region.
In Montreal's West Island, a relentless downpour quickly turned roads into flowing rivers. Some areas were hit with as much as 170 millimetres of rain in just a few hours, according to the report. Flash flooding filled the streets, and some drivers had to escape or be rescued from their vehicles as the water rose.
The storm also caused widespread power outages and chaos at Montreal's main airport, where 25 flights were diverted. Officials described a difficult situation on the ground, with one saying there were many people in distress as the rain kept falling and the water kept rising in low-lying areas.
City officials said several hundred homes were flooded by the deluge. Parts of Montreal's south shore were also hit hard, and one community briefly declared a state of emergency and opened a shelter overnight to take in residents forced from their homes by the rising water.
For some residents, there was little they could do as the water poured in. One described being helpless against the flooding, saying there was no pump and that once the water comes in, that is it. The scenes left many families facing a difficult cleanup once the rain finally eased.
As the cleanup continued, city officials said they plan to build more rainfall catch basins, framing the move as preparation for a new reality of more frequent and intense storms fuelled by climate change. The flooding added to a string of extreme weather events that authorities say are testing aging infrastructure.