Beryl aftermath: Workers ‘strip down’ to underwear, swim from flooded Montreal warehouse

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.”

2:15 Montreal’s storm sewers no longer up to the job as flash flooding becomes more common

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 Global News.

“And made our way on the other side where it’s higher and walk all the way to the highway.”

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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.

Highways hit by fast flooding

In Montreal, major highways were also partially closed during the evening rush-hour traffic Wednesday.

The entrances to the Decarie Expressway were quickly blocked off as vehicles were submerged by fast-accumulating water. Drivers had a hard time getting home as parts of Highway 40 were also inaccessible.

After the province was pounded by the downpour, a rainfall warning was still in effect for parts of southern Quebec on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, other parts of Quebec fared better but were still hit by heavy rain.

Environment Canada reported some of the Eastern Townships received up to 50 millimetres of rain, while Quebec City was mostly spared, with a total of six millimetres.

2:09 Aftermath of Beryl leaves some St-Laurent business owners with steep losses, big clean-up

—with files from Global’s Matilda Cerone, Annabelle Olivier, Dan Spector and The Canadian Press