At the end of the week, work continued to strengthen the dike that was threatening to give way in the Laurentians, where several hundred people were evacuated as a preventive measure a week ago.
On Sunday afternoon, authorities confirmed that the situation at the Morier Dike, which belongs to the state of Quebec, remained stable. The dike shows no further signs of deterioration as signs of internal erosion have appeared.
Martin Ferland, an engineer at the Environment Ministry's General Directorate of Dams, said efforts to inspect and stabilize this dyke at the end of the Kiamika reservoir, about 20 kilometers southeast of Mont-Laurier, were continuing as planned.
Our engineers made no new observations on the dike this morning.
The work continues today, and rest assured[en ce qui concerne les] Work procedures have been put in place at work to ensure the safety of workers, he said.
Due to the impending breach of the dike, the municipalities of Chute-Saint-Philippe and Lac-des-Écorces have been affected by a preventive evacuation order since December 3rd.
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Maintain evacuation notice
Authorities have warned that the advisory will remain in place until at least December 17. Mr Ferland also stressed that the work could continue even after residents return. There are no plans to return until the threat is lifted.
Environment Minister Benoit Charette was scheduled to be on site Monday morning, according to the schedule of various ministers released by the Quebec government on Sunday.
Built in 1954, this dike holds 382 million cubic meters of water, equivalent to more than 100,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
If the dike fails, roads, homes and infrastructure downstream could be damaged by flooding or landslides.
According to the Quebec government press release issued Sunday afternoon, around 1,900 people were evacuated.