MONTREAL—Residents of a flood-ravaged suburb west of Montreal tried in vain to get access to their trapped pets, medication and personal effects on Sunday after thousands were forced to flee their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs. Emergency workers urged another 1,500 residents of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que., to leave their homes Sunday, one day after the Lake of Two Mountains broke through a natural dike northwest of the city and forced some 5,000 others to flee without notice. Sylvain Lauzon said water began shooting out of his sink and floor drain at about 7 p.m. on Saturday. “It was like a war,” he said Sunday. “Police and firemen coming to your door, telling you to get out fast.” Lauzon said he delayed evacuating just long enough to help his neighbours, and to gather his two dogs and one of his two cats. Within an hour, he said, water had rushed down the street and had reached the floorboards of his truck. On Sunday, cars sat entirely submerged in water as the residents whose streets weren’t blocked off used boats to try to retrieve belongings. Read more: Study of 2018 New Brunswick flooding looks at ways of easing mental health toll Ontario, Quebec residents brace for tough days ahead as waters keep rising Flooding in four provinces prompts states of emergency, evacuations Others gathered behind police tape, clutching empty animal crates and begging officials to be allowed home to grab pets, medication and legal documents. Robert Pepin, 70, said the clay dike has never been breached since it was built to hold back the lake several decades ago. “My house is finished. There’s water up to here on the street,” he said, gesturing to his armpits. “There’s two feet of water inside and I have nothing, nothing, nothing.” Two shelters have been set up for evacuees in neighbouring Deux-Montagnes and some 2,500 homes were impacted. Premier Francois Legault, who visited the scene Sunday afternoon, announced the government was immediately giving $1 million to the Red Cross to ensure the evacuees’ immediate needs are met. He said it was “almost a miracle” that everyone was safe. “People in wheelchairs were evacuated by pickup truck, and there was nobody hurt,” he said. The dike breach in Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac brought to 5,584 the total number of flooded homes in the province, with some 7,566 forced to evacuate. Mayor Sonia Paulus said 100,000 tonnes of gravel were being trucked in to build two smaller dikes perpendicular to the water in a bid to keep the flooding from spreading further into the side streets. The mayor, who had to evacuate her own home, said the water level could continue to rise for another day or two, and that nobody would be allowed home until the situation stabilized. Flooding also caused the closure of the Chaudiere Bridge between Ottawa to Gatineau, Que., which will remain off-limits to pedestrians and vehicles. Traffic was being redirected to the nearby Portage Bridge. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... In Ottawa, hundreds of military members joined more than 2,000 volunteers to get sandbags ready for properties facing the threat of flooding along the Ottawa River. In Constance Bay, on the western edge of the city, a line of trucks, flatbeds and SUVs wove their way through the parking lot of the community centre to have sandbags piled up. The bags were whisked to nearby properties where they were piled up almost a metre high in places as residents hoped to protect their homes from waters set to peak by Tuesday or Wednesday. Pumps pushed water out of flooded basements and onto roads. Chris Brown was putting bags along his property on Sunday afternoon after watching the water rise higher than it did in 2017. His property in Constance Bay is actually considered to be out of the 100-year floodplain, which means he has overland flood insurance should the sandbags fail and the water gets into his home. “That’s us. Virtually everybody down the road there, many of these people, they’re not covered. And for many of them, this is their lives here and for them it’s very significant,” he said. Municipal officials are co-ordinating evacuations for residents whose safety or property is being threatened by the rising waters. At an afternoon briefing, city officials said 18 homes had been voluntarily evacuated, and the city was encouraging more homeowners to consider leaving over concerns that rising waters may soon make some roads impassable. Transport Minister Marc Garneau has issued a ban on marine navigation in several areas, including a stretch of the Ottawa River between Ottawa-Gatineau and the Carillon generating station, as well as on Lake of Two Mountains, Riviere-des-Mille-Iles and Riviere-des-Prairies. West of Ottawa, Renfrew County joined the growing list of regions that have declared states of emergency, with Warden Jennifer Murphy calling on residents to remain diligent as water levels continue to rise. Meanwhile, in central Ontario’s cottage country, members of the Canadian Armed Forces were called into the town of Bracebridge to help with sandbagging and other relief efforts. Nearby Muskoka Lakes on Sunday became the latest community in the region to declare a state of emergency, after Bracebridge, Huntsville and Minden Hills made the declarations earlier this week. The best news came from southern New Brunswick, where the forecast is for floodwaters to slowly recede in most areas over the next five days. The cleanup could take even longer than the flood itself. On Sunday, Prime Minister Trudeau didn’t close the door on federal dollars helping provinces that, like Quebec, may want to buy out affected homeowners. “Once we secure the situation, through this spring flooding season, we will have to have significant reflections and conversations on how we move forward,” Trudeau said at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe also took time to address those affected by the flooding. “I’d like to express my sympathy for the tremendous damage that the people are suffering from due to the most recent flood,” Abe said. “On behalf of the entire people of Japan I’d like to convey my sincere feelings to you.” Read more about:<doc-sep>The force of the Lake of Two Mountains has breached a dike protecting Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac as the risk of severe flooding continues in the Montreal area. The breach has forced evacuations in the municipality west of Montreal. More than 200 Quebec provincial police members, with the aid of a helicopter, an all-terrain vehicle and three boats are helping with the evacuations. The dike, a permanent wall along the lake, breached Saturday evening. "We think 700 to 800 homes are implicated," said Norbert Vendette, director of the fire department serving Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and Deux-Montagnes. Emergency responders have done a first pass of the affected area, and are now doing a second pass to ensure no one will be left behind. Around 10 p.m., Vendette said the most severely flooded areas were covered in three to five feet of water. No injuries have been reported so far, he said. An official said more than 700 homes have been affected by the flooding. (Mathieu Daniel Wagner/CBC) Members of the Canadian Armed Forces and members of 10 police and fire departments are also in the municipality as they work to get residents to safety and repair the breached dike. "We knew right away something was wrong," said Lloyd Selinger, who has lived in the area for 40 years. The resident of Deux-Montagnes was checking in on his brother in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac Saturday evening when he saw that Oka Road was backed up with emergency vehicles and people trying to leave the area. "They don't even have a minute," he said. "[The water] is coming in so fast." Earlier Saturday, the municipality had put out a call for volunteers to help reinforce the dike. Evacuations impacting about 400 people are underway in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que. after a dike protecting the municipality west of Montreal breached Saturday evening. pic.twitter.com/WOEAmOpnsL —@CBCMontreal Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said on Twitter that the evacuees will be housed at the Olympia Arena in Deux-Montagnes. Vendette said some people are also being housed at the Deux-Montagnes Legion. The municipality is asking residents to avoid using their toilets until further notice due to the risk of sewer backflow. Some Rigaud residents defy mandatory evacuation order Separately, the town of Rigaud, near the Quebec-Ontario border, has ordered residents in flooded areas to pack up and leave their homes, but some people are insistent on staying put. William Bradley is one such resident, who is refusing to vacate his home despite a mandatory order from the municipality. "It would be easy to leave," he said. "I don't think it's necessary." The town of Rigaud, near the Quebec-Ontario border, has ordered evacuation of homes in flooded areas, but not everyone has complied. (Radio-Canada) Bradley's wife, on the other hand, has opted to leave now that water has seeped into the couple's basement. "The water tunnelled under the sandbag wall and got into the basement," Bradley explained. "​It was just redone too​," he added. Watch drone footage of the flooding in Rigaud: Get a bird's eye view of Rigaud under floodwaters 0:58 The drone footage was captured on April 23, 2019. 0:58 He says as long as his street is still passable, he doesn't see a reason to leave. "You can walk on it. It's tricky, there's currents," he said, referring to the several feet of water in front of his house. "It's like walking through pudding because of the current," he said. He adds that his neighbours have been using a canoe to transport sandbags to and fro. Rigaud, a municipality of about 7,600, issued mandatory evacuation orders to certain residents earlier this week. Stay at your own risk, says town On Saturday, Rigaud Fire Chief Daniel Boyer said that 172 homes in the evacuation zone are still occupied. "Of​ten the wives and children have left and it's the husband who stays to defend the home," he said. "It's their decision to stay, but at their risk and peril​." Even though the evacuation is mandatory, the town has said it won't be forcing residents to leave, meaning if people choose to stay, authorities cannot guarantee their safety. "We have people who are fighting hard against the elements right now," he said. Rigaud Fire Chief Daniel Boyer says residents are putting themselves at risk by refusing to obey evacuation orders. (Radio-Canada) Boyer emphasized the risk homeowners are taking on themselves, saying that it will be difficult to get emergency vehicles out to flooded homes without some delays. Water levels in the town 30 kilometres west of Montreal have not yet reached 2017 flood levels, and Environment Canada is predicting only periods of light rain until Tuesday. Along with city workers and members of the Armed Forces, Quebec provincial police are patrolling flood areas to make sure no empty homes are robbed or looted. Whether on not they choose to evacuate their homes, Rigaud residents are being advised to turn off all electricity where water can get in and secure propane tanks. 1,795 evacuated across the province Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said Saturday that her office is monitoring water levels across the province and that she's particularly concerned about Rigaud and neighbouring Pointe-Fortune. Across the province she said there are currently 3,050 flooded homes and 1,795​ people have been evacuated, as of Saturday morning. Guilbault said the situation is under control in the Mauricie region, the Centre-du-Québec region, Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches. The situation has also stabilized in the Beauce. The municipality of Vaudreuil-Dorion declared a 48-hour state of emergency Saturday, as a result of flooding from the Outaouais river. A state of emergency is also in place on the island of Montreal. The state of emergency gives the city the power to seize land, order mandatory evacuations and put in place other flood prevention measures. Quebec Premier François Legault said in a news conference Saturday afternoon that safety is the first priority and citizens should avoid taking any unnecessary risks. "I'm asking all Quebecers: When you're asked to leave, it's for your security. We'll take care of the assets after."<doc-sep>
Annie Pépin's kids were playing outside with her father Saturday as she cleaned the kitchen after supper. Sirens, and the blaring of a police cruiser's loudspeakers, shattered the evening calm. "Evacuation now! Evacuation now!" she recalled hearing. "I got outside and I looked at my kids and they were screaming and crying. And then everybody was running." A 50-metre section of a natural dike holding back the Lake of Two Mountains had been breached in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, an off-island suburb northwest of Montreal. Water immediately began pouring into the town. Witnesses heard trees snapping under the rushing torrent. "The water came pouring in just like a tsunami.... It wasn't there and then it was there," a Sainte-Marthe resident, Michele Ellison, told a CBC News radio special on Sunday. "You had to get out fast." Another Sainte-Marthe resident, Francis Labbé, was driving home when he heard the dike had been breached. Initially he thought he lived far enough away to be spared the onrushing water. "When we arrived home, we had no choice but to consider that the water was rising at an impressive pace. We had approximately 40-45 minutes to do something," Labbé said. Robert Pépin and his daughter Annie Pépin were at his home with her kids when their quiet evening was interrupted by police sirens, evacuation orders and a rushing wave of water. (Jay Turnbull/CBC) He frantically moved anything of value upstairs. Then police knocked at his door and told him to stop and get out. Roughly 200 Sûreté du Québec officers were deployed soon after the breach, working with local police, the fire department and Canadian soldiers to go door to door "extremely quickly" and vacate some 50 streets. They managed to get more than 5,000 residents to high ground in just a few hours. "Yesterday there were lives that were saved here by fire officials and police officers," said provincial police Sgt. Daniel Thibaudeau on Sunday morning. "We took people out. If we hadn't done so, we'd be talking about serious injuries or deaths." Nobody was injured and nobody is missing after an estimated 2,500 homes were evacuated. By 10 p.m., the water was more than two metres deep in the worst-hit areas. Water levels continued to rise Sunday morning, prompting officials to evacuate another 100 properties, said Thibaudeau. Roughly a third of the town is currently under water, flooding homes and streets a half-kilometre in-land. First-responders went door-to-door in the evacuated neighbourhoods on Sunday, monitoring water levels and ensuring residents were safe. Thousands flee Montreal suburb after dike breaches CBC News 0:36 Evacuees in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, an off-island suburb northwest of Montreal, attempted to rescue pets and recover possessions after a 50-metre section of a natural dike holding back the Lake of Two Mountains breached last night. 0:36 'Matter of minutes' The Canadian Red Cross is on the scene, offering assistance to evacuees. People are being offered a place to sleep, as well as psychological support. The vast majority of evacuees found friends and family to stay with. Around 50 people are being housed temporarily at the Olympia Arena in neighbouring Deux-Montagnes. After touring Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac on Sunday, Premier François Legault announced the Quebec government is giving an additional $1 million to help the Red Cross meet the most urgent needs of the evacuees. Meanwhile, efforts to repair the dike are already underway. Authorities are also trying to stem the flow of water by building additional dikes on the flooded streets, and then pumping water back toward the breach. Electricity was shut off to more than 2,000 Hydro clients in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, a boil-water advisory was issued and residents were told not to flush their toilets for fear of sewer backups. Because people had to leave so quickly, they may have left important items, such as medications or pets, behind, Thibaudeau said. In cases like that, he said people should contact city officials to see if an escort is possible. "We don't recommend anyone go on their own," he said. "We ask for people to respect the barriers here." Rescue personnel are able to retrieve pets and shelter the animals, he said. Police are also maintaining a presence in the neighbourhoods to ensure there is no criminal activity, he added. Weather brings relief With the situation in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, nearly 7,700 Quebecers have been forced from their homes since spring flooding began in different areas around the province two weeks ago. That's almost double the number of evacuees during the 2017 floods in Quebec, considered unprecedented at the time.