Highway 59 impassable as St Pierre floods

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This article was published 14/07/2015 (3201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

St Pierre mayor Mona Fallis said she cannot recall a flooding quite like what her village experienced Wednesday night.

Highway 59 between Belanger Avenue and farther south where Hebert Avenue and Joubert Street meet was impassable after Fallis said St Pierre was on the receiving end of between 2.5-3 inches of rainfall in a half-hour beginning around 7:30 p.m.

“I have never seen it this bad,” said Fallis, who grew up in St Pierre and spent much of her life in her hometown.

She notes the underwater segment of Highway 59 is of lower elevation that is prone to holding water but she could not recall water levels this high. She estimated it was as high as two and a half inches around 9 p.m, and continuing to fall.

Fallis said she had heard of water seeping into basements in the village’s southern end.

The sudden knee-deep water strained St Pierre’s drainage system, she said.

“It’s too much water for the system to handle,” said Fallis. “It’s going down slowly but it will take all night to go through.”

More rainfall may continue to fall overnight as Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the area.