Ont. and Que. scramble to recover from thunderstorm that left at least 7 dead

A massive thunderstorm kicked off the May long weekend in southern Ontario and Quebec, killing at least seven people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power, and communities are now scrambling to deal with the aftermath.

Clean-up efforts continued Sunday as crews grappled with a trail of destruction that left fallen trees, downed power lines and battered neighbourhoods.

After the storm cleared up in the west at Golden Horseshoe, the torrent of rain, wind and thunder hit the eastern regions of Ottawa and southern Quebec.

Police say six deaths in Ontario were caused by falling trees as strong winds created widespread damage, while a woman in Quebec died when a boat she was in capsized in the Ottawa River near Masson-Angers.

Two of the deaths were confirmed on Sunday afternoon. A woman in Port Hope, Ont., was struck by a falling tree and died at the scene, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.

Another woman died after a tree fell at a home in her North Kawartha Township, Ont., OPP confirmed.

The other Ontario fatalities from the storm who died Saturday include a 44-year-old man in Greater Madawaska west of Ottawa, a woman in her 70s out for a walk in Brampton, a 59-year-old man on a golf course in Ottawa, and one person killed in their camping trailer near Pinehurst Lake in Waterloo Region.

Trees, power lines down

The city of Ottawa says there have been multiple reports of fallen trees littering roads and sidewalks, along with several damaged houses. Hydro Ottawa says 200 hydro poles have been damaged by the storm.

Hydro Ottawa’s most current outage map showed more than 575 outages affecting 177,546 customers and Hydro Quebec’s website confirms that approximately 370,000 customers are still without power.

“The situation is complex with extensive damage to our infrastructure across the city to both transmission and distribution systems, and at this time, we are not able to provide estimated restoration times,” Hydro Ottawa said in an update on Sunday morning.

Hydro Quebec announced on Sunday morning that more than 361 crews have been dispatched to impacted communities to restore service, but they too did not offer an estimated restoration time.

The Township of Uxbridge, Ont. declared a local state of emergency after the storm caused significant damage to the community.

A statement posted on the township’s website says there are widespread power outages and many closed roads due to downed trees and power lines. Residents are being asked to stay home to allow municipal workers to focus on removing road hazards rather than managing traffic congestion.

On Sunday, the town also banned all outdoor fires and announced that Township Emergency responders are deployed to assist with storm damage.

The eastern Ontario community of Clarence-Rockland also issued a state of emergency.

As of early Sunday morning, Hydro One, which provides power to residents in rural parts of Ontario, reported that 269,000 customers were without power.

In a message to customers on Sunday, the company said that while additional resources have been called in to assist with power restoration, “it will take several days to restore all customers due to significant damage.”

Recovery efforts

The City of Ottawa has set up three emergency reception centres that include charging stations for residents impacted by the storm

“The respite centers are there to provide air conditioning, electrical outlets … and just a gathering spot because hydro estimates it could be two to three days until everyone has their power back up. So we ask for people’s patience,” Ottawa’s Mayor, Jim Watson told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

He said that clean-up efforts are underway with the city’s first priority to get roads designated emergency routes for fire, police and ambulances cleaned up but that it could take several days before the city is up and running again.

There is some more bad weather in the forecast for some areas impacted by the storm, however.

Environment Canada has issued a warning of potential thunderstorms in southern Quebec on Sunday evening with wind gusts of approximately 40 kilometres an hour.