Broken Quebec dike forces hundreds of evacuations northwest of Montreal

By The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Quebec’s premier is telling residents in waterlogged areas of the province that they face a few more “difficult” days ahead and to “have courage” until the flood threat eases.

Francois Legault made the comment yesterday afternoon, just hours before a dike broke in Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que., forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents living along the shore of Lake of Two Mountains, northwest of Montreal.

There’s an emergency meeting being held at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School. This is the first time a Montreal city council meeting has been held outside of city hall since 1926. They’ll be discussing the city’s current state of emergency.

Quebec officials said yesterday that 3,085 homes remained flooded, 2,783 others were surrounded by water, 2,003 people had been forced from their homes and about 50 landslides had been reported across the province.

WATCH: Flood zones worsen in Quebec

Legault noted that swollen rivers south of Quebec City are finally receding, however, he said water levels in the corridor along the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers between Montreal and the boundary with Ontario weren’t expected to peak before Monday or Tuesday.

In the Ottawa area, where hundreds of troops have been deployed to help hold back the still rising floodwaters, officials put out a call yesterday for more volunteers to pack and stack sandbags.

Meanwhile, in central Ontario’s cottage country officials said water levels were up slightly due to rain on Friday, but they were hopeful some late season snow would act like a sponge and help slow the flow of water into lakes, rivers, and streams.

WATCH: Trudeau lends hand to those fighting flood waters in Ottawa

The best news comes from southern New Brunswick where the forecast calls for flood waters to slowly recede in most areas over the next five days.

The Canadian Press, with files from CityNews Montreal

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