The flood warning for the Mattagami River and Porcupine Lake is now extended to Kamiskotia Lake.
Mattagami Region Conservation Authority general manager David Vallier says just last week, we had almost triple the amount of rainfall we normally get in all of November.
“But we’ve had floods in the fall before, in 2014 and 2018” he reminds us. “This is not necessarily a spring event anymore, with how climate has been changing. We’re getting rain events during the summer, spring and fall and even into the winter.”
Last week, 140 mm of rain fell on the area. Vallier says that includes 62 mm over one 24-hour period. In a typical November, the total the entire month is in the mid to high 50s.
“We exceeded that in one day,” he points out, “and we’re definitely triple if not quadruple for the month based on where we’re seeing averages for the last 15 years.”
Vallier won’t go out on a limb and predict when water levels might recede.