Rainstorm flooding in Montreal has a return period of 1 in 100 years: Environment Canada

Environment Canada reports the rains that flooded Montreal and overwhelmed the city’s sewer system on May 29 had a return period of 1 in 100 years.

Environment Canada spokesman André Cantin said 47 mm of rain in total fell during a storm that caused widespread flooding of home basements, highways, businesses, streets and subway stations. Of that amount, 44.5 mm of rain fell in a two-hour period and 30 mm fell in less than 15 minutes, he said.

“No sewer collector network would have been able to manage the quantity of water that we saw yesterday,” Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay told a news conference, as reported by CBC News.

Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.’s adjusters in Quebec and New Brunswick, along with the company’s national CAT team, are currently assisting with the surge of claims resulting from this event.

“Our adjusters are equipped with the experience necessary to act quickly during times such as this,” said John Sharoun, CEO of Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. “Our contact centre has received hundreds of calls since the storm began and we are well positioned to deliver services to the affected areas.”

City crews have been dispatched to repair sewer pipe covers and handle the overflow.

Concordia University’s library remains closed as a result of water damage and some classes had to be moved, the CBC reported. The University of Quebec in Montreal also closed several pavilions and parking lots, while several schools on the city’s South Shore were also forced to close because of water issues.

The Montreal Gazette cited reports on Twitter of private homes, shopping malls, office towers and other buildings — including Place Montréal Trust and Place Alexis Nihon —“being inundated as water burst up through toilets and sinks and poured in from street level.”

One Twitter user reported that businesses on the first floor of the complex Les Ailes had water streaming through their ceilings, the Gazette reported. The archives room at Radio-Canada was also flooded and its ceiling collapsed.