On the night of March 9th, the rural area of the municipality witnessed abnormally large amounts of rain—according to unofficial measurements, twice the monthly average of rain in one single day! This caused the level of the Saint Lawrence River, which cuts across town, to increase by about 10 feet (3 meters) within a few hours.
Advised of this by rural residents, the city administration dispatched vehicles with sirens to the town streets at about 4 am on March 10th, asking the residents to leave their homes and to be prepared for a severe flood. Most people did not believe the warning, as it was not even raining that much in town at the time.
Soon after that, however, they were surprised to see enormous amounts of water flowing out of the river’s bed, with the force of a torrent, and invading the town streets. Half of the urban area was flooded within less than an hour, hitting 15,000 to 20,000 people. Many houses had water up to the roof, and their residents had no choice but to rush to their rooftops.
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Throughout the day on March 10th, people were rescued by boats and helicopters, and taken to shelters. A few hundred were brought to the only local hospital, with minor injuries or hypothermia. Eight casualties have been confirmed up until now, and several residents are still missing.
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The waters that flowed from the river through the city streets towards the lagoon swept everything away, including cars, animals, boats, trees, furniture, and even entire houses. The powerful torrent destroyed bridges (including the main highway connection to the largest nearby city), streets, and sidewalks, leaving behind layers of mud and debris.
[This text was adapted from various news sources in Brazil.]
News piece and video of a Brazilian national TV network about the disaster
Video with still images with scenic views of the town’s beaches, one of which is now destroyed
Online album of the municipal administration, showing pictures of the town and its beaches