P.E.I. residents dealing with burst pipes after weekend freeze

When Rachel Collier heard a loud, unfamiliar sound Saturday, then water started to pour down the walls and out of her living room ceiling fan, she figured it was time to grab her laptop and other valuables and get the heck out of her Charlottetown apartment.

"It was getting progressively worse and we weren't sure like, you know, would the ceiling collapse, that kind of thing," she said.

"I was concerned. I just needed to figure out what was going on because something was happening in the building and I suspected we needed to get out of there."

Collier is one of many Maritime residents dealing with burst water pipes after temperatures in the minus-20s C Saturday rose to about -4 C on Sunday.

Water pours down from the ceiling in Rachel Collier's apartment in Charlottetown. 

Summerside fire Chief Ron Enman said the department responded to about seven calls after alarms were set off from burst pipes.

"I'm sure the local plumbers everywhere on the island are busy today."

The Canadian Red Cross is helping with lodging and meals for two people who were forced out of their unit in a townhouse complex on Park Royal Court in Charlottetown.

'Got out quickly'

In a news release, the Red Cross said more than 60 people have been displaced from 12 incidents across the Maritime provinces because of residential fires or evacuations due to burst pipes, flooding and resulting safety issues associated with extreme cold weather.

There are likely many others, including Collier, who are staying with friends while they sort out what is covered under tenants' insurance.

"I'm not entirely sure what is damaged or not yet," she said. "I was able to grab one of my laptops and … we kind of just got out quickly."

CBC reached out to Collier's landlord, but did not receive a response.