Thousands evacuated in Montreal as floods worsen

Canadian authorities told more than 5,000 people were told to quickly leave their homes near Montreal after floodwaters breached a dike in rain-soaked eastern Canada.

The barrier protecting Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, just west of Canada’s second largest city, gave way Saturday night, causing a surge of water up to 1.5 meters.

Security and emergency personnel helped evacuate nearly 2,600 homes in the area.

According to the latest government data, nearly 8,000 people have been forced by rising waters from their homes in Quebec, and about 6,000 homes have been flooded,  topping the 2017 toll during what was then the area’s worst flooding in a half-century.

Some 1,700 soldiers have been deployed to help with evacuations and fill sandbags in the hardest-hit regions of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Last week, both Montreal and the capital Ottawa declared states of emergency.

Via CBC