Thousands evacuate Sainte-Marthe after dike failure

Firefighters along with Provincial Police and the Canadian Armed Forces rushed into Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac after a dike failed sending feet of water pouring into the community Saturday night. (CBC)

The state of emergency remains in effect in Montreal, Ile Perrot, Vaudreuil Dorion and several other western Quebec communities. Thousands of volunteers continue to fill sandbags and build dikes from Ottawa to Montreal in an effort to hold back Mother Nature. The Ottawa River flowing into Lake of Two Mountains and around the northern edge of Montreal via Riveres-des-Prairies, continues to flow at historic levels. The rain has finally come to an end Sunday, with a crest expected within the next 36 hours. Afterwards water levels should begin to stabilize. More rain is forecast by Wednesday, but let's take one day at a time for now.

DIKE FAILURE
Last evening around 8pm, a dike failed along Lake of Two Mountains in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac northwest of Montreal. Several feet of water poured into homes south of Chemin Oka in a matter of minutes. The SQ and Canadian Armed Forces along with firefighters and police form at least 10 neighboring communities rushed to the region to evacuate more than 6000 residents. This morning, those evacuees are staying in the Two Mountains Legion, while efforts are underway to repair the dike. Hydro Quebec has cut power to the affected parts of the municipality, and a boil water advisory has been issued. Most evacuated residents had less than an hour to escape before the water rushed in. No injuries were reported. Police are going door to door Sunday morning along approximately 50 different streets in the community to make certain everyone is out.

Water creeps closer to Sainte-Charles Avenue in Vaudreuil-Dorion. The off-island municipality was forced to close the main north/south route on Saturday due to major flooding near Leger Street. (Valley Weather)

In Montreal and Ile Perrot as well as in Vaudreuil-Dorion and Hudson, Sunday will be a repeat of the last 10 days, the battle to stay ahead of rising waters. The Galipeault Bridge remains closed between Ile Perrot and Montreal, as does one lane inbound on Highway 40 at the Iles-aux-Tourtes Bridge. Tolls have been waived on Highway 30 towards Beauharnois, in an effort to provide an alternate route around the flooding and into Montreal. Exo has also announced that the Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter train line will be free starting Monday, and remain that way until the bridge is reopened.

In addition to the bridge and lane closures, numerous other roads and provincial highways have been forced to shut. Saint-Charles Avenue in Vaudreuil-Dorion is also closed near Leger Street due to major flooding.