Send this page to someone via email Quebec provincial police say 75 residents have been forced from their homes amid fears a dam in the western Laurentians could collapse as flooding continues. Quebec’s Public Security Ministry issued an alert for the Chute-Bell Dam on Thursday afternoon and ordered evacuations for Grenville-sur-la-Rouge area along the Rouge River. A total of 60 residents were transported by car and the others by helicopter. Residents were taken to Grenville-sur-la-Rouge town hall, near Hawkesbury, Ont. Some are also being sheltered in Lachute. READ MORE: Southern Quebec prepares for more flooding amid rainfall warning Hydro-Québec says the dam hasn’t failed yet, but warns it is fragile. “Right now everything is stable, it’s under control,” Hydro-Québec Francis Labbé said. “The problem is the rain that we are expecting in the next 24 hours or so, and we know this rain will make the flow of the river rise 30 per cent more than what it is right now.” Story continues below advertisement Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale described it as a critical situation, saying water levels have reached record highs. The federal government is in touch with Hydro-Québec as the situation evolves, he added. The Rouge River down from the dam that has authorities nervous and has forced evacuations. pic.twitter.com/P3XBx6g4NY — Mike Armstrong (@ArmstrongGN) April 26, 2019 The provincial government is also keeping a close eye on the rising river. Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said on Thursday there was an evacuation of 23 principal homes and 38 cottages. She called it a preventive measure. Guilbault reiterated Friday public safety is her top priority. “The main message is that as soon as a structure is considered dangerous, we make the appropriate decisions to make sure that no one is at risk,” she said. The public alert, which was issued Thursday afternoon, has now been extended to May 3. Story continues below advertisement The province is asking residents to abide by evacuation orders. They are also asked to avoid rivers, valleys and low-lying areas. WATCH BELOW: Residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge asked to evacuate 3:49 Residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge asked to evacuate Residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge asked to evacuate – Apr 25, 2019 — With files from Global News’ Annabelle Olivier, Rebecca Lindell and The Canadian Press<doc-sep>Water levels at the hydroelectric dam at Bell Falls on the Rouge River in Quebec's western Laurentians reached heights never before seen Thursday, triggering a mandatory evacuation of houses downstream. Provincial police were going door-to-door to ensure residents left the area, Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said Thursday evening. Some people had to be evacuated by helicopter. The area around the dam is mainly forest dotted with small farms. It's sparsely populated, but there are around 23 principal residences and 38 cottages — many of which may not be occupied — so the exact number of people affected is unknown, Guilbault said. The Public Security Ministry sent an evacuation alert Thursday afternoon after Hydro-Québec notified the ministry that the Rouge River had reached levels never before seen. Dam built to withstand once-in-1,000-years flood "A dam like Bell Falls is designed to withstand a flood that happens once in a thousand years," said Simon Racicot, head of production at Hydro-Québec. "Today at noon we reached that level, and at that point there's a protocol in which we notify civil security and residents of imminent danger." A "once in a thousand years" scenario means there is a 0.1 per cent chance of a flood of this magnitude happening in any given year. The average flow at Bell Falls is 103 cubic metres per second, Hydro-Québec data shows. On Thursday, it increased ninefold to reach 980 cubic metres per second. The Bell Falls dam, on the Rouge River, 16 kilometres north of the Ottawa River, is in danger of rupturing as the water level surpassed the dam's capacity by noon Thursday. The dam was built 'to withstand a flood that happens once in a thousand years,' said Hydro-Québec's head of production, Simon Racicot. (CBC) The utility is confident that the dam will not break, Racicot said, but for the safety of citizens, it could take no risks. "We're entering an unknown zone, really," he said. "So we have to wait and see what happens over the next few days." If the dam ruptures, it would take around 45 minutes for floodwaters to reach those buildings under the evacuation order, police said. Police said they are using "all the means at their disposal to ensure people's safety." "We are asking residents of areas affected by forced evacuations to co-operate with the authorities," the Sûreté du Québec said on Twitter. Watch helicopter footage of the dam at risk of breaking: Bell Falls dam at risk of failure, officials say CBC News 2:15 Quebec's Public Security Ministry is warning that the hydroelectric dam at Bell Falls on the Rouge River in the western Laurentians region has reached its capacity. 2:15 Helicopter ride under sunny skies Brenda Finn, who lives on Rivière Rouge Road, was among those evacuated from her property by helicopter Thursday. She said her house is high and dry, well above the road that skirts the river, so when soldiers arrived at her door last Sunday to say she should think about leaving, she told them she wasn't worried. Brenda Finn, who lives downstream from the Bell Falls dam on the Rouge River, was taken out of the area by helicopter on Thursday, April 25 after water levels at the dam reached unprecedented heights. (Elias Abboud/CBC) "I said, 'I'm not going.' But it's a different story when you have a dam breaking," she told CBC News. When a municipal official called Thursday to tell her to call her neighbours and let them know the dam may not hold, she said she "knew it was all over. I knew they were coming." By the time the helicopter arrived, Finn said, she had a bag packed and climbed aboard. "It was really beautiful," she said of her helicopter ride. "The sun was out; you're looking at the River Rouge — the nice farmland and the trees." However, rain in the forecast for the next few days means water levels at the dam could rise a further 70 centimetres, so Finn is well aware the worst might be yet to come. "I'd be a fool not to worry — but it is what it is." Highway 50 reopened at Grenville On Thursday evening Transports Québec reopened Highway 50 in both directions along the stretch that passes through Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, after closing it in the afternoon. That highway, which links Gatineau to Highway 15 at Mirabel, crosses the Rouge River about 16 kilometres downstream from the dam, where the Rouge empties into the Ottawa River. The evacuation order for the area downstream from Bell Falls comes as large swaths of Quebec and neighbouring eastern Ontario are dealing with spring floods. Ottawa declared a state of emergency on Thursday, while Montreal warned water levels could rise even higher this weekend. Bell Falls, or Chute-Bell, is about 23 kilometres northwest of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Que., which is on the north side of the Ottawa river, across from Hawkesbury, Ont.<doc-sep>Quebec authorities say they are confident that the Bell Falls Dam in Quebec's western Laurentians will withstand never-before-seen river levels, but that precautionary evacuations of highest-risk areas downstream are complete. "Every person who was located in the risk area in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge has been evacuated as a preventive measure," Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said Friday. "Safety has been assured." Hydro-Québec officials "are still confident that the dam will resist the flow, but if it doesn't, no one is at risk," Guilbault said. On Thursday, water levels at the dam on the Rouge River hit the extreme limit for which the structure was built, triggering a mandatory evacuation process. Hydro-Québec says the dam is designed to withstand a "thousand year" flood — which means a flood that has a 0.1 per cent chance of occurring — and the utility is confident it will hold even as water levels rise beyond that limit. With rain expected, the flow rate may increase by another 30 per cent in the next few days, Hydro-Québec spokesperson Francis Labbé said Friday. Because of that, "we cannot legally and morally guarantee that the structure will be able to hold such a pressure," he said. If the dam were to give way, people would have less than an hour to escape the surging water, said federal Public Security Minister Ralph Goodale during a Friday morning news conference. "The wise thing is to get out in advance of a problem and not wait until the last minute," he said. The dam is in danger of rupturing after the water level surpassed its capacity at noon on Thursday. (CBC) Some refuse to leave their homes Bell Falls, or Chute-Bell, is about 23 kilometres northwest of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Que., which is on the north side of the Ottawa River, across from Hawkesbury, Ont. Provincial police said about 60 people have been obliged to leave their homes so far. They were all mandatory evacuations, but town officials and police are also urging residents in rural regions beyond the highest risk areas to leave their homes. Officials said some 250 people total are being encouraged to vacate the Grenville-sur-la-Rouge area. Provincial police Sgt. Daniel Thibaudeau said evacuations have been going well considering the size of the operation. Most people were taken out by land, but about 15 were airlifted to safety by helicopter because their homes were completely surrounded by water. "It's a huge undertaking," Thibaudeau said, speaking to CBC at a command post that provincial police have set up in the vicinity as evacuations continue Friday. Quebec provincial police have set up a command centre near the dam as officials work to clear residents out of the area. (Kate McKenna/CBC) "It's a rather complex territory, there are some houses you just cannot get to by land, they're surrounded by water." Despite the warnings from Hydro-Québec engineers and the province's public security minister, Arnold said some people are refusing to leave. "Those are the ones I've been trying to convince and explain to them why they need to evacuate," said Arnold, who grew up in the area. Watch helicopter footage of the dam at risk of failing: Bell Falls dam at risk of failure, officials say CBC News 2:15 Quebec's Public Security Ministry is warning that the hydroelectric dam at Bell Falls on the Rouge River in the western Laurentians region has reached its capacity. 2:15 "I think it's just a matter of communicating the dangers to them face to face. And I think that we'll get everybody's co-operation." Some 150 properties — a mix of homes, camps and businesses — are at risk, and Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor Tom Arnold said his top priority is making sure nobody is left behind. Material items can be replaced, Arnold said, but lives cannot. Like Arnold, many people have lived in the area their entire lives and, while they are used to the river flooding nearly every spring, it's never been this bad, he said. "It's what they call the 1,000-year flood," he said. "So we're keeping our fingers crossed." Mayor told dam had collapsed Arnold was inspecting camps and a campground near where the Ottawa and Rouge rivers meet when a radioed message told him the dam had collapsed. He imagined a wall of water rushing down through the valley, wiping out the population. He told kayakers to get out of the water and sent rescuers north to begin emergency evacuations. Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Que., Mayor Tom Arnold. (Radio-Canada) All the while, he was thinking of those living along the river. "You see all the people you know and you see their faces in your mind and you think of the worst," said Arnold. "So it was a huge relief when we were told the structure was still there."<doc-sep>Share this Story: Get out now, Quebec tells 250 people downstream from hydro dam on verge of failure Get out now, Quebec tells 250 people downstream from hydro dam on verge of failure 'They told us that there was no time to pack our bags and that we had to leave because the dam was maybe going to break,' Denise Audet said Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press Article content Ottawa declared a state of emergency, Montreal’s mayor signalled a “very concrete and direct” threat to homes and a dam was on the verge of failure Thursday as flooding worsened in parts of Eastern Canada. After nearly a week of rising water levels, public security officials in Quebec called for the immediate evacuation of an area along the Rouge River west of Montreal on Thursday because of the risk a hydro dam could fail. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Get out now, Quebec tells 250 people downstream from hydro dam on verge of failure Back to video Simon Racicot, director of production and maintenance with Hydro-Quebec, told reporters the dam at Chute Bell was built to withstand what he called a millennial flood. “That means a flood that happens every 1,000 years,” he said. Hydro workers discovered earlier in the day the millennial level of water had been reached. “We are confident that the structure is solid,” Racicot said. “But the protocols force us to warn people of the danger. We are entering into an unknown zone right now — completely unknown.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The largely rural section of river affected is in Quebec’s Lower Laurentians region, about 140 kilometres west of Montreal, stretching about 18 kilometres south to the Ottawa River. Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault told reporters Thursday evening the province’s hydro utility is confident the dam can hold back its current water reservoir and is structurally sound. “But we are expecting more rain over the coming hours and days, so the water levels of the Rouge River can rise,” she said in Montreal. Guilbault said there are 23 residences and 38 cottages in the evacuation zone along the river. Quebec provincial police tweeted they were helping about 250 people get clear of the affected area as a preventive measure. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Provincial police spokesman Daniel Thibaudeau said 40 people had been removed to safety as of 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and the remainder would be taken out over the course of the evening. Several dozen officers were taking part in the operation with the aid of all-terrain vehicles and helicopters. About a dozen people living in areas not easily reached by land were airlifted out. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press Evacuees were being taken first to the town hall in nearby Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, and those with no alternative lodging were being transported to the arena in Lachute, about 40 kilometres away. Among those headed for the arena were Denise and Martin Audet, who had just returned home from some shopping when they heard police officers yelling that the area was being evacuated. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “They told us that there was no time to pack our bags and that we had to leave because the dam was maybe going to break,” Denise Audet said. She said everything happened so quickly she “didn’t have time to be scared.” Tom Arnold, mayor of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, said it could be weeks before evacuees can return home, even if the dam holds. “I don’t have confidence. The worst is yet to come,” he said when asked about the dam’s stability. Hydro-Quebec said through social media that if the dam breaks, the water flow would have minimal impact on locations downstream once it joined with the Ottawa River. The worst is yet to come According to the utility’s web site, the concrete dam, built in 1942, is 19 metres high and almost 60 metres long. It has the capacity to hold back 4 million cubic metres of water. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The dam scare comes as many parts of Quebec have been hit by flooding. Officials say the flood risk remains high because of a combination of precipitation in the forecast and melting snow to the north. Earlier on Thursday, Guilbault toured the Lachute area, northwest of Montreal, where flood waters on the Riviere du Nord have risen in recent days. She said she was impressed with the level of preparation in smaller communities and was satisfied that the number of people on the ground working on flood relief — which includes nearly 1,000 Canadian soldiers — was sufficient. Guilbault added she wouldn’t hesitate to ask for more help if necessary. Quebec public security officials said more than 2,500 homes were flooded and more than 2,100 were isolated Thursday, meaning they were considered cut off due to washed out roads or landslides. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press Authorities also warned specifically against landslides reported in various parts of the province. One person has died since widespread flooding began in the province. In Montreal, officials raised the security level and increased the number of teams on the ground amid fears flooding could get worse in the coming days but stressed the situation was under control. “You’re going to see more firefighters, you’re going to see more police officers and more municipal workers to help for floods that could come this weekend,” said Martin Guilbault, operations chief of the Montreal fire department. Mayor Valerie Plante warned that anyone who was flooded in 2017 should prepare their homes for more flooding — and possible evacuation — if they haven’t done so.<doc-sep>
MONTREAL -- Quebec public security officials called for the immediate evacuation of an area along the Rouge River west of Montreal on Thursday because of the risk a hydro dam could fail. Simon Racicot, director of production and maintenance with Hydro-Quebec, told reporters the dam at Chute Bell was built to withstand what he called a millennial flood. "That means a flood that happens every 1,000 years," he said. Hydro workers discovered earlier in the day the millennial level of water had been reached. "We are confident that the structure is solid," Racicot said. "But the protocols force us to warn people of the danger. We are entering into an unknown zone right now -- completely unknown." The largely rural section of river affected is in Quebec's Lower Laurentians region, about 140 kilometres west of Montreal, stretching about 18 kilometres south to the Ottawa River. Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault told reporters Thursday evening the province's hydro utility is confident the dam can hold back its current water reservoir and is structurally sound. "But we are expecting more rain over the coming hours and days, so the water levels of the Rouge River can rise," she said in Montreal. Guilbault said there are 23 residences and 38 cottages in the evacuation zone along the river. Quebec provincial police tweeted they were helping about 250 people get clear of the affected area as a preventive measure. Provincial police spokesman Daniel Thibaudeau said 40 people had been removed to safety as of 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and the remainder would be taken out over the course of the evening. Several dozen officers were taking part in the operation with the aid of all-terrain vehicles and helicopters. About a dozen people living in areas not easily reached by land were airlifted out. Evacuees were being taken first to the town hall in nearby Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, and those with no alternative lodging were being transported to the arena in Lachute, about 40 kilometres away. Among those headed for the arena were Denise and Martin Audet, who had just returned home from some shopping when they heard police officers yelling that the area was being evacuated. "They told us that there was no time to pack our bags and that we had to leave because the dam was maybe going to break," Denise Audet said. She said everything happened so quickly she "didn't have time to be scared." Tom Arnold, mayor of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, said it could be weeks before evacuees can return home, even if the dam holds. "I don't have confidence. The worst is yet to come," he said when asked about the dam's stability. Hydro-Quebec said through social media that if the dam breaks, the water flow would have minimal impact on locations downstream once it joined with the Ottawa River. According to the utility's web site, the concrete dam, built in 1942, is 19 metres high and almost 60 metres long. It has the capacity to hold back 4 million cubic metres of water. The dam scare comes as many parts of Quebec have been hit by flooding. Officials say the flood risk remains high because of a combination of precipitation in the forecast and melting snow to the north. Earlier on Thursday, Guilbault toured the Lachute area, northwest of Montreal, where flood waters on the Riviere du Nord have risen in recent days. She said she was impressed with the level of preparation in smaller communities and was satisfied that the number of people on the ground working on flood relief -- which includes nearly 1,000 Canadian soldiers -- was sufficient. Guilbault added she wouldn't hesitate to ask for more help if necessary. Quebec public security officials said more than 2,500 homes were flooded and more than 2,100 were isolated Thursday, meaning they were considered cut off due to washed out roads or landslides. Authorities also warned specifically against landslides reported in various parts of the province. One person has died since widespread flooding began in the province. In Montreal, officials raised the security level and increased the number of teams on the ground amid fears flooding could get worse in the coming days but stressed the situation was under control. "You're going to see more firefighters, you're going to see more police officers and more municipal workers to help for floods that could come this weekend," said Martin Guilbault, operations chief of the Montreal fire department.