City officials in Montreal are advising residents to exercise caution as they return to flooded homes and businesses. While large parts of the island remain under water, the levels were retreating rapidly enough to lift the state of emergency as of noon on Sunday.

The province's emergency management department said almost 4,600 residences were struck by flooding, and almost 3,900 people have been moved out of their homes in 129 communities as of Saturday night.

A team of experts and electricians is said to be going door-to-door in Pierrefonds, posting safety checklists for residents and assessing which properties can safely have the power switched on.

The list encourages residents to check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, keep a one metre space around all heating devices, call service providers for propane and natural gas, and contact a master electrician to restore power.

Specialists are also said to be on hand to accompany those who are ready to move back in. However, many in the city say have little to return to.

“I feel like crying sometimes. What are you going to do? I don’t know,” said one man who spoke to CTV News on a street where front lawns are piled high with waterlogged home furnishings.

Another man, Gaji Rashid, said he has a hard time looking at the heap of furniture, clothing, and mattresses littering the lawn in front of his house. He pegs the cost of the damage to his home around $30,000. The worst part, he says, is the sandbags needed to protect his neighbourhood arrived too late.

Many in the neighbourhood feel the city was too slow in deploying protective measures. In Pierrefonds, some complain that officials wasted valuable time in asking for the Agence métropolitaine de transport’s permission to build a dike near the train tracks. One frustrated resident was arrested for trying to build one.

“We asked them many times to put some sandbags close to the train tracks and the cycling path. We might (have) saved the 34 houses damaged here,” Rashid said.

“There might be some mistakes, maybe,” said Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre on Saturday. “We will take a look at that. But I think the important thing right now is to make sure we do things accordingly, safely, and that the people that are in charge of public safety can do their job.”

Some homeowners down the block are wondering why a 2008 plan to build up the road by 70 centimetres to act as a barrier between water and homes was scrapped.

The city has said it plans to examine its flood prevention measures. Cold comfort for those who say Montreal should have been ready.

“Right now, it’s too little too late,” said one man standing next to a wall of sandbags.

Military building new bridge to Ile-Verte

Meanwhile, north of Montreal, residents of Ile-Verte are getting a new rush-order bridge after the one connecting both sides of the island flooded.

Since the flooding, residents have been forced to use boats to get on and off the island, which is part of Laval, Que.

While it usually takes years to get a new bridge built, the state of emergency sped up the process.

The municipality decided on Wednesday to replace the bridge and materials arrived from New Jersey on Thursday.

On Friday, more than 100 troops were deployed to begin construction.

Officials hope the bridge will be built in the next few days, but it is still unclear how long construction will take.

With a report form CTV Montreal’s Kelly Greig and files from The Canadian Press