Residents of a Port Moody neighbourhood were forced to rally together in the middle of the night to protect their homes after a water main burst.
People in pajamas were outside using shovels and makeshift sandbags to keep water away after the main broke near Ioco Road and Benson Drive overnight.
“Basically none of us had sandbags, so we filled garbage bags as we could with gravel, which seemed to hold the water back,” resident Bruce Downing said.
Despite their efforts, water did get through retaining walls and left some people with big messes to clean up on Tuesday.
Downing’s garage was flooded, as was Rita Lefebvre’s basement.
“The water was pouring over the curb and it was just racing down here. It was quite something,” Lefebvre said.
Neighbours did pitch in to help, however, including some who weren’t personally affected.
“A guy we’ve never met before… he just came down in his shorts and running shoes,” Lefebvre said.
About a dozen homes suffered some damage, and up to 80 homes were left without running water on Tuesday while city crews worked on fixing the problem.
It’s unclear what caused the main to burst, but Port Moody utilities manager Paul Leblanc said such incidents aren’t uncommon at this time of year.
“This usually is due to the weather change, the water temperature change,” Leblanc said.
The city expects crews to be in the area well into the afternoon.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Nafeesa Karim
