Massive Water Main Break Forces Montreal Boil Water Advisory

Nearly 150,000 homes in Montreal were issued a boil water advisory on Friday following a dramatic water main break near the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Residents in the area were jolted awake around 6am as firefighters urged evacuations due to the flooding risk. Witnesses say a towering 30-foot-high "wall of water" burst from the ground, turning streets into streams and necessitating a five-and-a-half-hour effort to control the flooding.

Mayor Valérie Plante reported that by 11:45am, workers had managed to close a valve to reduce the pressure in the water main, stabilizing the situation. Despite containment, the city issued a boil-water advisory impacting much of the northeastern island. Officials say the ruptured pipe had been in place since 1985.

Witnesses described the scene in vivid detail. Lyman Zhu recounted waking to sounds akin to "heavy rain" and seeing a "wall of water" through his window. Maxime Carignan Chagnon similarly described the water gushing for two hours, adding, "It was truly impressive." He noted about 2 feet of water inundated his basement, though he said he heard others suffered even worse flooding. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)