According to Environment Canada, the start of a long weekend in Canada was bleak. At least five people were killed and hundreds upon thousands of customers were left without power.
The storm — with wind gusts surpassing 80 miles per hour — uprooted trees and damaged power lines and structures across southern and central Quebec and southern Ontario, Environment Canada, the government’s weather service, said. Sunday was the day that Canadians were supposed to celebrate Victoria Day. tree limbs still blocked roadsAnd animals were trappedBroken barns were left behind. Some customers had been in darkness for more than 12 hours and were in dire need of power restoration.
One woman died in Brampton, Ontario, west of Toronto. She was walking outside during a storm and was struck by a tree. according to the Peel Regional Police. Another person was killed when a tree fell onto a Pinehurst Lake-parked camping trailer. the Ontario Provincial Police said. According to police, a tree fell on a man in Ottawa and he was killed.
Police in Quebec reported that a 51-year old woman died after her boat capsized.
Widespread power cuts continued into Sunday morning with around 300,000 customers, mainly in Ontario, still without electricity. Hydro One, a power company that services Ontario, stated that its transmission system in Ottawa had sustained significant damage.
“We anticipate it will take several days to restore power after today’s destructive storm,” the company said on TwitterSaturday evening, refer customers the its outage map to receive further updates.
For Sunday, there was more bad weather forecasted. Environment Canada warned of thunderstormsIn central and southern Quebec, and of severe weather potential near the Appalachian Mountains.
Jim Watson, Ottawa’s mayor, spoke in a statement on Saturday that the city had deployed “city and hydro crews” to restore power and clear roads.
“This was a massive storm and we ask for your patience,” Mr. Watson added.
Source: NY Times
