2 missing after landslide in Rivière-Éternité, Que.
Authorities have resumed the search for two people wiped out by a landslide yesterday in Rivière-Éternité, about 160 miles northeast of Quebec City.
Rivière-Éternité declared a state of emergency on Saturday. Environment Canada estimates that 75 to 100 millimeters of rain fell then.
A torrential downpour caused a landslide around 1:30 p.m. on Notre-Dame Strait, which leads to Fjord-du-Saguenay National Park.
A tornado warning had also been issued for the Fjord-du-Saguenay sector.
Water supply for part of Principale Street has been suspended.
Surete du Québec Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu said on Saturday night that the missing were trying to clear the way of the debris left behind by the storm.
Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault tweeted on Sunday that the ministry would send a geotechnical team to support the municipality and join crews repairing Road 170, which she said could take several days.
Ambulances, fire brigade and police are participating in the search. The helicopter from the Sûreté du Québec also arrived on the scene on Saturday evening.
One person was rescued yesterday and taken to hospital in critical condition.
The Sûreté du Québec and the mayor of the municipality, Rémi Gagné, are expected to provide an update on the situation on Sunday.
The storm caused extensive damage in the borough, including puncturing several sections of Route 170, which is now closed in both directions, Beaulieu added.
Earlier, authorities said three vehicles were swept away, in the heart of the borough, after a landslide on Route 170, which turns into Principale Street.
Two vehicles were found on the side of the road. Authorities are trying to determine if a third vehicle may have been swept away in the area.
Lodging available in Saguenay
On Saturday, Andrée Laforest, the minister responsible for the region, asked some 400 citizens to leave the area and spend the night in the neighboring municipalities of Anse St-Jean and St-Félix d’Otis.
A shelter will be opened in Saguenay for citizens leaving Rivière-Éternité. The city said it had received a request from the Ministry of Public Security to house 250 people.
The location of the shelter, the expected number of people and the time of their arrival are not yet known, the municipality said in a statement issued early Saturday evening.
Homes in Rivière-Éternité had already been evacuated in the afternoon after the road collapsed.
Motorists from Saguenay traveling towards the Saint-Siméon sector should take Route 381, towards Charlevoix.
