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Water main break floods downtown Montreal, McGill University

Crews could take up to 3 hours to cap a water main break that led to severe flooding.

A broken water main in Montreal yesterday turned part of the downtown core into a river, sweeping at least one resident off her feet and down the street in the flood.

The city told CTV News the water main broke because of erosion over time. Pipes in the area are more than 100 years old.

Montreal residents raced to their cameras and cell phones to record the incident and its watery aftermath on Monday afternoon. The resulting videos tell the story.

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YouTube user Nicolas Westgate posted a video yesterday of a water pipe gushing water on campus at McGill University. The description says he was walking to class, minding his business, when he saw water leaking out of a nearby pipe. Then suddenly, the pipe burst.

Another video captures the flooding from three locations, showing water gushing down the street, people shoveling slush and a car crash scene on Sherbrooke St. W. and McGill College St.

A vehicle slowly drives up the street against the tide of water running down from another gushing pipe. With tires immersed in water, it's a treacherous drive, even if it's only a few metres.

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After fighting the current in water that appears to reach above her knees, the water swept this woman away. A chilly ride in January, but it looks like she's using the street as a water slide.