Water main break, gas leak prompt evacuations and power outages in NDG
Some residents of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce had a particularly eventful morning Tuesday after a water main break led to a gas leak which in turn forced Hydro-Québec to cut power to thousands of customers in the area.
A spokesperson for the fire department says 30 to 50 people were forced out of about 40 homes on Old Orchard Avenue due to the gas leak.
Gaz Métropolitain sealed the leak in the early afternoon, according to a spokesperson for the borough, and residents will soon be able to return to their homes.
However, some homes don't have water, and it's unclear when that will be turned back on.
Nearly 9,000 Hydro customers in NDG, Côte Saint-Luc and Hampstead were without electricity as a result of that gas leak around 8 a.m., but power has since been restored to many of those homes, businesses and schools.
Madeleine King, who lives on Old Orchard, said she was woken up in the middle of the night by a police officer who notified them of the water main break.
She and her family went back to sleep, only to be woken up again early this morning due to the gas leak.
"You can smell it," she said of the gas.
"We had to quickly shut the pilot light off in the fire place, and everybody had to leave the house," she said.
Standing outside on the street, King's son, Elliott Thompson, said he was puzzled by the scene in his neighbourhood.
"It's just weird to see a giant river going down my street," he said.
Marc-Olivier Le said he went to bed around 2 a.m. this morning. He didn't sleep for all that long.
"I … [heard] some knocks on the door and a fireman came in and said, 'You need to evacuate right now,'" he said.
