A swift and relentless downpour from the remnants of hurricane Beryl brought up to 100 millimetres of rain to the Montreal area in a matter of hours, leaving a mess in its wake.Environment and Climate Change Canada says it was the wettest July 10 on record in the city, where heavy rain “caused numerous sewer backups, flooding under overpasses and the closure of sections of highways.”
The summer storm led to flash flooding in basements, garages and workplaces in some parts of Montreal.
Kristina Boudaeva, president of Waff Logistics in the city’s St-Laurent borough, said employees had to swim out of a flooded warehouse Wednesday.“We had to strip down to our underwear and literally dive into the murky water,” Boudaeva said in an interview with Media.“And made our way on the other side where it’s higher and walk all the way to the highway.”
The floodwaters continued to rise in the warehouse until 6:30 p.m. and company has had to re-route trucks and customers in the meantime, she added.
Environment Canada Meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin says the Island of Montreal was hit with up to 80 millimetres, much of which fell within a single hour — a rare event that will be “really hard to break for the next 100 years and more.” The city’s airport received 78 millimetres of rain — 30 of which fell in an hour.Dino Bonomo, owner of Avenue Design, reported 10 inches of water in his high-end furniture and interior design store.The majority of his showroom pieces were ruined by floodwaters and he estimates there is about $1 million worth of damages.“It’s all scrap,” Bonomo said.
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