Glyn Hughes and many of his neighbours spent their Thursday cleaning up after a burst water main flooded his basement on Lauralynn Drive and swept mud onto several other properties.
Hughes was alerted to the problem just after 10 p.m Wednesday, when he noticed the flashing lights of a firetruck near his home.
"We looked outside and there was nothing but water," he said.
District of North Vancouver crews had the water shut off 40 minutes later, and worked through the night to clean debris from Carmaria Court, downhill of the rupture. District firefighters and RCMP officers were also on the scene.
"Our basement is on ground level, so it just came in through the front door," Hughes said.
"And we've been cleaning up ever since."
No one was injured and there was no serious property damage. Water service was quickly restored to the affected homes and crews aimed to have the roadway completely cleared by the end of Thursday.
District spokeswoman Jeanine Bratina said it isn't known exactly why the pipe broke, but the municipality's 50-year-old asbestos-cement water mains are growing brittle and fail comparatively frequently. When they do, the municipality replaces them with more durable ductile iron.
The district spends $3 million each year on replacing the aging pipes, which translates into three to five kilometers each year. Staff believe as much as $12 million worth of "high-risk" pipe remains in the ground.
Although no one was in any danger during this flood, Dorit Mason of the North Shore Emergency Management Office visited the neighbourhood to check on residents and remind them to be prepared for more serious incidents such as the 2010 landslide that damaged several Wembley Drive homes and the fatal 2005 Blueridge slide.
"It's not just mudslides; it's any type of emergency," Mason said. "We all have a personal responsibility to be prepared. It could be an extreme weather incident, any type of hazard."
The office is putting on a series of free or low-cost workshops in the coming weeks to educate residents about what they need to do to keep themselves safe in the event of an emergency, and what services are available to them afterwards.
Visit www.nsemo.org and click on Training and Education, or call 604-969-7000.
Bratina also wanted to remind residents that given the heavy rains expected soon, they should make sure the storm drains in front of their homes are free from leaves and other debris to prevent overflows from damaging their property.
