A water main break at the corner of St-Antoine Street West and Brewster Avenue, near Lionel-Groulx metro station, has led to several street closures in the area, as well as prompting a precautionary boil water advisory.
“I was seeing the water flying over and I was very far away like maybe I don’t know maybe 800 metres,” Kathleen Lacroix, a witness biking nearby said.
Police were called to the scene Saturday morning to redirect traffic and assist Montreal firefighters as well as city workers.
A perimeter was set up stretching east from Rose de Lima Street, to Atwater Avenue, and from St-Antoine Street West, south to Notre-Dame Street West.
According to some nearby residents, water was gushing out “like a geyser,” causing flooding.
Other residents phoned Global News to report power outages, as far away as St-Mathieu Street.
A look at the Hydro-Quebec website, showed that there were power outages in the area, affecting some 1,266 residents. The cause of the power outage was listed as an accident, or incident, with workers expecting power to be restored by 3 p.m. Saturday.
As of 6:30 p.m., only 55 residents on Brewster Avenue were still without power, according to Hydro-Quebec.
At least 50 people were evacuated near the site of the break.
“We were actually supposed to have a huge birthday party for my husband tonight and so we had to cancel everything,” Uzema Jeena said, as she learnt she was not allowed back into her home.
“Because of course, I can’t cook, can’t clean… It’s a bit of a disaster.”
The Montreal Fire Department said roadwork was underway when excavators hit a pipe.
“Either they hit a main pipe or the soil displacement gave way underneath the pipe and the pipe broke,” said Martin Galardeau, the chief of the Montreal Fire Department.
WATCH BELOW: Water main break on St-Antoine Street
The pressure was so high that water was still flowing hours later. Firefighters say they couldn’t stop the water all at once to avoid problems with other pipes.
“It’s just like a water hose, when you want to squeeze it, if you squeeze it right now, it can break somewhere else,” Galardeau added.
Officials encourage residents to keep updating themselves through the fire department’s social media accounts as things are expected to go back to normal in the next 24 hours.
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