Powerful street geysers erupt in Montreal rainstorm

Extraordinary cloudburst produced flooding on the street s of Montreal, Canada on May 29. More than 50 mm, or 2 inches, of rain fell on parts of the city within a half hour Tuesday evening. Environment Canada said that parts of Montreal saw up to 80 mm, or more than 3 inches, of rainfall in less than an hour. About 3 inches of rain normally falls throughout the month of May.

Runoff from the torrential downpours overwhelmed the city's sewer system, leading to destructive inundation of homes, businesses and other infrastructure. The Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay called the rain "exceptional". Powerful geysers bursting wildly from sewer manholes were among the Montreal flooding scenes depicted in videos posted online.

The Museum of Contemporary Art was hit hard, with up to 3 feet of water filling its basements. Hundreds" of works of rare art were damaged. Two universities in the city were slammed, resulting in canceled classes and rescheduled exams. (AccuWeather)

Featured image credit: Montreal OpenFile