Work to secure Quebec dike continues a week after evacuation over breach fears

Officials say work is ongoing to stabilize a Quebec dike that was showing signs of failing, forcing residents to leave their homes one week ago.

The provincially owned Morier dike — located on the edge of the Kiamika reservoir, roughly 125 kilometres northeast of Ottawa in Quebec's Laurentians region —  has shown no further deterioration since signs of erosion were noticed last week, according to regional authorities.

Displaced residents will remain under an evacuation order until Dec.17. 

In total, some 1,088 evacuees registered with authorities while 1,900 properties were ordered to evacuate. 

Martin Ferland, an engineer with the province's Environment Ministry, says the dike will continue to be inspected and stabilized as planned.

An emergency preventive evacuation order is still in effect for the communities of Chute-Saint-Philippe and Lac-des-Écorces due to the risk of the dike bursting. 

Ferland says work may continue once evacuees return but only if the infrastructure is deemed safe.

The dike was built in 1954 and has the capacity to retain 382 million cubic metres of water, the equivalent of more than 100,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

In the event of a breach, officials have said that homes, roads and other infrastructure located downstream could be damaged by flooding or landslides.