2011 Lake Champlain and Richelieu River floods

2011 Lake Champlain and Richelieu River floods

Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River basin
Date	April 2011 – End June
Location	New York Quebec (Montérégie) Vermont
Deaths	None

The 2011 Lake Champlain and Richelieu River floods was a series of water level increases that began during the end of April 2011 and caused a subsequent overflow of the Richelieu River in Canada and Lake Champlain in the United States. The floods affected about 3,000 homes in Montérégie and have caused an estimated six million U.S. dollars of damage in seven counties in the northern area of Vermont. Similar damage has been reported in New York State.

In Quebec, the major cities affected by the flooding were Venise-en-Quebec, Noyan, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Henryville, Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix and Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois. On May 5, the Canadian Forces were requested to help evacuate residents and build dikes to try to protect areas at risk.

Operation Lotus

Operation Lotus was the name of the military operation to assist citizens in the Montérégie area in response to a formal request from the province of Quebec for assistance, following this natural disaster. The Canadian Forces worked to limit the damage caused by the worst floods to occur in the valley of the Richelieu River and on Lake Champlain over the previous 150 years. Over 650 Canadian soldiers and sailors participated at one time or another in Operation Lotus until 17 June.