Quebec’s Public Security Ministry is maintaining an alert for the Chute-Bell dam in the western Laurentians as flooding continues across the province.

The alert, which was issued Thursday afternoon, has been extended until 11:45 p.m. on May 3. The hydroelectric dam hasn’t failed yet, but Hydro-Québec warns it is fragile.

“Right now everything is stable, it’s under control,” Hydro-Québec Francis Labbé said.

“The problem is the rain that we are expecting in the next 24 hours or so, and we know this rain will make the flow of the river rise 30 per cent more than what it is right now.”

Quebec provincial police say that 75 residents in the Grenville-sur-la-Rouge area have been evacuated from their homes as of Friday morning. A total of 60 were transported by car and the others by helicopter.

Residents were taken to Grenville-sur-la-Rouge town hall, near Hawkesbury, Ont. Some are also being sheltered in Lachute.

Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said on Thursday there was an evacuation of 23 principal homes and 38 cottages in the area along Rouge River. She called it a preventive measure.

With rain in the forecast, the situation is being monitored very closely by the province.

The public alert asks residents to abide by evacuation orders. They are also asked to avoid rivers, valleys and low-lying areas.

— With files from Global News’ Annabelle Olivier and The Canadian Press

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