Rivers under watch, evacuation notice issued in Saguenay, Que., region

CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 1:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

After dense rainfall implicit the past fewer days, rivers successful Quebec's Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean portion are nether surveillance and the municipality of Saint-Thomas-Didyme has issued an evacuation announcement for 50 of its residents. 

The affected areas are Dumais Road, Acadiens Road, and Range Roads 2 and 3.

The evacuation advisory was released connected Wednesday day and residents were asked to permission their homes by Thursday 8 a.m. owed to flooding risks from the Rivière des Aulnaies, which passes nether a span connected Dumais Road and different connected Range Road 2.

The province's Transport Ministry closed some bridges as of Wednesday to traffic, but for radical who wished to permission the area.

Mayor Sylvie Coulombe told Radio-Canada that the evacuation is simply a precautionary measure, adding that residents successful the country had been contacted. 

The municipality is advising residents to interaction municipality hallway to find retired what services are available.

Rivers successful the portion nether watch 

The Petite rivière Péribonka and the Chicoutimi River are nether surveillance.

In Saint-Félicien, the Rivière aux Saumons was successful a authorities of insignificant flood astatine astir 7:30 a.m. connected Thursday, according to Quebec Public Security's flood monitoring data. Residents who unrecorded adjacent this waterway are advised to beryllium vigilant. 

But the concern isn't worrisome for the Saint-Félicien Wildlife Zoo, located adjacent the river.

"This is thing that happens each year. We settled astir an land truthful it's definite that [with] the river, we are impacted by this, we show it each year. We are monitoring it close now," said David Pagé, the biologist and conservation manager of the zoo.

As a precautionary measure, animals were evacuated from the small farm located closest to the river.