Tens of thousands of homes, businesses and schools in Ottawa, eastern Ontario and western Quebec are without power this morning, as the cleanup is underway following the freezing rainstorm.
The storm covered roads, sidewalks, trees and hydro infrastructure with a layer of ice throughout the day, and hundreds of trees have been downed across the region.
Environment Canada recorded 38.5 mm of freezing rain, ice pellets and rain at the Ottawa airport on Wednesday, the greatest precipitation total on April 5 in Ottawa history. An estimated 25 to 30 cm of ice accretion was recorded in parts of the Outaouais.
Dozens of schools are closed in Ottawa and eastern Ontario today due to the power outage, while school buses are cancelled for all schools in the region.
As of 9 a.m., approximately 65,000 customers across the city of Ottawa are still without power. A memo to council said Hydro Ottawa expects the top 20 outages to be restored by 12 p.m.
"The situation continues to fluctuate and conditions are very poor and unsafe as a result of bad road conditions, ice build up and downed trees and power lines in many areas of the city," Hydro Ottawa says on its website.
Hydro Ottawa will provide an update on restoration work at 10 a.m. A lack of cellphone service at the Hydro Ottawa headquarters is preventing CTV News Ottawa from carrying the utility's update live.
The Hydro Ottawa outage map shows several power outages across the city on Thursday morning. The outages include 5,200 customers in the Sittsville, Kanata, Carleton-March and Rideau-Jock area, and 4,000 customers without power in the Beacon Hill-Cyrville and Orleans area.
Hydro One is reporting more than 95,000 customers without power across eastern Ontario. The outages include more than 10,000 customers in the Kemptville area and 11,000 customers in the Embrun area.
Hydro Ottawa spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa tells Newstalk 580 CFRA that restoration efforts have been hampered by the temperatures.
"We thought we would get a moment of relief where we thought it was going to melt, but it didn't melt. We did definitely see estimated times of restoration change."
Hydro One crews from southern and central Ontario will be sent to eastern Ontario to assist with the cleanup.
The Hydro One outage map lists the estimated restoration time as Thursday or Friday, depending on the area.
Hydro Quebec is reporting 136 outages across the Outaouais region of western Quebec, with 126,000 customers without power Thursday morning. Approximately 75,000 customers in Gatineau are still without power.
Debris cleanup
City of Ottawa officials say staff are working to clear trees and limbs that are blocking streets across the city.
The city's Forestry Services department received over 600 requests for storm debris on Wednesday, including calls for broken limbs and downed trees due to ice accretion.
"Once hazards and streets are cleared, staff and contractors will address broken limbs, non-hazardous removals, and brush/wood cleanup. Further, some trees may require reinspection and pruning work following the storm," Public Works general manager Alain Gonthier said in a statement Wednesday night.
"Forestry staff and contractors with the support of Roads staff will be working into the evening and over the coming weeks to address storm related service requests."
Residents are asked to stay away from broken and hanging branches/limbs on trees.
City of Ottawa facilities
Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr says the following centres will be open today for residents to shower and charge devices.
Jim Durrell Centre
Canterbury Community Centre
Post a Comment