Residents can return home after Quebec dike declared safe

Authorities say that work carried out by government dam management engineers have stabilized the Morier dike in Laurentians region northwest of Montreal. A view of the dike is seen near the town of Chute-Saint-Philippe, Que., in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Ministere de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs,

Authorities say work carried out by government engineers has stabilized a dike northwest of Montreal that was at risk of bursting.

With the Morier dike in the Laurentians region deemed safe, hundreds of residents from the municipalities of Chute-Saint-Philippe and Lac-des-Ecorces can return home after being forced out 11 days ago.

The two communities were under an emergency preventive evacuation order after signs of erosion were detected during a monthly inspection of the dike.

Authorities had initially said the evacuation order would be in place at least until Sunday, but they said today that while work and monitoring will continue over the coming days, it no longer presents a danger.

Nearly 1,900 properties were affected by the evacuation order, and more than 1,000 residents had registered with local officials after leaving their homes.

The provincially owned dike was built in 1954 and has the capacity to retain 382 million cubic metres of water, the equivalent of more than 100,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.