Five dead after severe storms hit Canada
In a grim start to a long weekend in Canada, at least five people were killed and hundreds of thousands of customers remained without power after a line of thunderstorms cut a violent path across parts of Quebec and Ontario on Saturday, according to Environment Canada.
The storm — with wind gusts surpassing 80 mph — uprooted trees and damaged power lines and structures across southern and central Quebec and southern Ontario, Environment Canada, the government’s weather service, said. On Sunday, a day before Canadians were to celebrate Victoria Day, scattered tree limbs still blocked roads and animals were trapped by pieces of splintered barns. Utility companies rushed to restore power for customers, some of whom had been in the dark for more than 12 hours.
In Brampton, Ontario, one woman died after she was struck by a tree as she walked outside during the storm, the Peel Regional Police said. Another person died when a tree fell on a camping trailer that was parked at Pinehurst Lake, Ontario Provincial Police said. In Ottawa, a 59-year-old man was killed after a tree fell on him at a golf course. A 30-year-old man died after he was hit by a falling tree in the Ganaraska Forest, east of Toronto.
In Quebec, a 51-year-old woman died after her boat capsized and she fell into the Ottawa River in Gatineau.
Widespread power outages continued into Sunday, with about 300,000 customers, mostly in Ontario, still without electricity. Hydro One, a power company servicing Ontario, said that its transmission system in the Ottawa area had incurred substantial damage.
“We anticipate it will take several days to restore power after today’s destructive storm,” the company said on Twitter on Saturday, referring customers to its outage map for further updates.
There was more bad weather in the forecast for Sunday, as Environment Canada warned of thunderstorms in central and southern Quebec, and of the potential for severe weather near the Appalachian Mountains.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said 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,” Watson added.