'Wall of water' in Montreal after underground pipe breaks, floods streets and homes MONTREAL — A break in a major underground water main near Montreal's Jacques Cartier Bridge sent water gushing down streets and inside homes on Friday morning, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings and leading to a boil-water advisory for about Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press Aug 16, 2024 9:14 AM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message A broken watermain spews water into the air on a street in Montreal, Friday, August 16, 2024, causing flooding in several streets of the area. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL — A break in a major underground water main near Montreal's Jacques Cartier Bridge sent water gushing down streets and inside homes on Friday morning, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings and leading to a boil-water advisory for about 150,000 homes. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said many residents east of downtown woke up around 6 a.
m. to firefighters urging them to get out of their homes because of flooding risks from the "geyser" that erupted at the corner of René-Lévesque Boulevard and de Lorimier Avenue. Witnesses said that at its peak, a "wall of water" 10 metres high had burst through the ground, flooding the densely populated neighbourhood near the bridge.
By 11:45 a.m. the situation was "under control," Plante said, and the city's director of water services said workers had managed to close a valve .