More than 300 homes isolated amid Gasp floods

Alice Campbell Dell has lived near the Little Cascapedia River in Quebec's Gasp region her whole life and says she's never seen its levels as high as they weretoday.

This week's rain and mild weather haveraised the levels of several Gasp rivers, and isolated more than 300 homes in the Baie-des-Chaleurs area, with many having to evacuate.

A Quebec Ministry of Transport spokesperson confirmed one bridge on Highway 299 collapsedunder the force of the flooding. It was a temporary structure erected while an entirely new bridge is being built nearby.

"The river is so enormous at this point. The entire flats and the island, and the two branches of the river [at Cascapdia], are all just one big raging river," Campbell Dell said over the phone.

Campbell Dell's home in New Richmond is by the river, but high enough on a hill that she doesn't fear flooding.

Crews have been out, trying to clear massive piles of debris that have amassed by bridges whilethe water laps away at their decks.

Several roads near the river are closed to allow crews to do their work safely. But one part of Highway 132 in New Richmond was closed because water flooded the roadway.

"It's pretty impressive," Campbell Dell said. "They've got huge cranes trying to lift the debris over the three bridges to take the pressure off."

A Canadian Armed Forces helicopter has been dispatched to assist Quebec provincial police in surveying the rivers to make sure everyone is safe.

"We are used to seeing water here when the snow melts, but in December, it's only the second time in 20 years," saidric Dub, the mayor of New Richmond.

"It was really the amount of rain that caused the rivers to overflow.There was a little snow in the hills, but not like in spring," said the region's director of civil security, Janique Lebrun.

The Cascapedia, Bonaventure, Petite Cascapedia, Nouvelle, Sainte-Anne and York rivers have all risen from their beds and are under surveillance.

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