BURNABY -- Several homes in Burnaby have been flooded, leaving residents scrambling to clean up, after a water main ruptured early Thursday morning sending torrents of water into homes.
Many residents near Gilmore Avenue and Dominion Street say they woke up to the sound of rushing water and instantly knew something was wrong.
"I thought there was like an earthquake happened," said Rob Pimentel, who lives downhill on Manor Street."Like a river coming down my stairs, many back stairs. A lot of dirty water."
"I looked out the window and saw the fire truck, and maybe somebody was hurt or something like that, and then I looked closer and I see a lot of water," said Steve Chen who lives nearby. "Right now you see a lot of water coming out. I guess the main line is busted and it’s all going into a neighbours house."
The water main burst left a huge hole in the road and sent rocks, mud and debris flying through the neighbourhood as some homes and basements filled with more than a foot of water.
Neighbours say it took city crews more than an hour to get the water turned off, but by then the damage was already done.
It's the second time a water main has burst in the neighbourhood, leaving serious damage behind. The City of Burnaby confirms the previous water main break happened in March.
Resident Lorinda Banks says the flooding in her carport from the previous incident was so bad she had to replace her car.
"Things weren't fixed until June or July in our home, but now we need to worry about water damage again, and mold and stuff," Banks said.
Luckily for her she has home insurance.
A spokesperson for the City of Burnaby said crews shut off the water as quickly as possible.
"Following recent main breaks in this area we immediately began the design work for accelerated replacement of this section," Chris Bryan wrote in an email to CTV News.
Bryan said Burnaby has one of the "most aggressive" water main replacement programs in the country, and is replacing about two percent of its water mains every year.
The City of Burnaby believes the water main that burst on Thursday was installed in the 1950s or 1960s. It was due to be replaced in 2020, at an expedited schedule, after several issues in the area including the flooding in March.
The incident in Burnaby is the third major water main break in Metro Vancouver in the past couple days
On Tuesday, homes were flooded after a water main burst in a Surrey neighbourhood.
On Wednesday, a 100-year-old water main broke at Georgia and Hornby in downtown Vancouver leading to delays for some drivers.
City crews in Burnaby are expected to be on scene all day Thursday as they begin repairs and start cleaning up damage to the road.
