Around 400,000 homes still without power in Quebec due to severe thunderstorms
Around 400,000 homes still without power in Quebec due to severe thunderstorms
Powerful thunderstorms hit Quebec late Saturday afternoon and evening.
In all, Hydro-Québec reported 1,237 outages affecting 468,837 homes across the province.
According to Hydro-Quebec, over 90,000 homes were still without power at 10 a.m. in the Outaouais region and over 150,000 in the Laurentians.
The Crown corporation attributed the outages to "severe thunderstorms". In addition, around 100,000 customers in the Lanaudière region were experiencing power outages.
In total, Hydro Quebec reported 398,889 customers were experiencing power outages.
Major outages were also reported in the Quebec City and Mauricie regions.
In Val-des-Monts, in the Outaouais region, several trees fell on a cottage with residents inside. A mother and daughter were trapped inside the building, whose roof had collapsed.
Des orages d’une rare violence se déplacent au Québec et causent des pannes. ATTENTION : Si vous voyez des fils au sol, il ne faut surtout pas s'approcher et plutôt appeler le 911 pour faire sécuriser les lieux.
Pour savoir quoi faire pendant une panne ⬇️ https://t.co/kp5rwilMKD
In addition, a tree was hanging over the roof. The MRC des Collines police were able to safely evacuate the people from the residence, and they were not injured.
Environment Canada had issued an emergency alert on the national system for all television, radio and cellular phones in the Outaouais region.
Another tornado warning was issued around 5 p.m. on the national system for the Lanaudière region, including the cities of Joliette, Rawdon and Berthierville. It was reported that strong winds, intense rain and large hail hit the area.
Another alert was then issued for western Montreal and parts of the Laurentians, including Lachute and Saint-Jérôme.
By 10 p.m., severe thunderstorm and tornado watches were over for many parts of the province. However, severe thunderstorm warnings were still in effect in the greater Montreal area, the Eastern Townships and the Beauce.
MAJOR DAMAGE ACROSS PROVINCE
Strong winds were recorded in several locations, including Lake Memphremagog with gusts up to 151 km/h, Trois-Rivières with peaks of 96 km/h and Gatineau with 90 km/h.
The Montreal area was generally spared by the storms, which moved from Ontario through the Outaouais, Laurentians, Lanaudière and Mauricie regions to the Capitale-Nationale region late Saturday afternoon. The Eastern Townships and Chaudière-Appalaches regions were affected by another thunderstorm cell during the night, around 3 a.m. Sunday.
Several municipalities reported fallen trees and damage.
In Val-Morin, in the Laurentians, residents were asked to keep their drinking water consumption to a minimum: "Due to the power outage, the supply of water produced by our pumping stations is slowing down," the municipality wrote on its Facebook page.
In Lanaudière, two schools were damaged by the weather. They are the Sainte-Bernadette school in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes and the Saint-Alphonse school in Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, according to a note published by the Centre de services scolaires des Samares, which said it was working with experts to assess the situation and "organize the return to class safely."
In the Outaouais region, several residents have shared photos on social networks of the Saint-Fidèle church in Fassett, whose bell tower collapsed.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 22, 2022.
Texas' Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes.
An attorney for an 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help said Thursday there was 'no way' the boy could have been mistaken for an adult.
Killer whales severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of southern Spain, the local maritime rescue service said on Thursday, adding to dozens of orca attacks on vessels recorded so far this year on Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
It is a world wrapped in mystery - the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, seen up close just once nearly four decades ago by a passing NASA probe and still warily guarding its secrets.
Mexican authorities say they've made an arrest in the killing of a Quebec man earlier this month in the Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido. The Oaxaca state attorney general says in a statement issued Friday that an arrest warrant was executed for a man in Puerto Escondido identified only by his initials in connection with the homicide of Victor Masson.
Advocates are hoping the Ontario government will consider alternatives to the use of wild animals in off-leash dog areas for the purpose of tracking as officials push forward with a proposal to expand training areas in the province.
Ontario Provincial Police have charged two people following reports of hitchhikers displaying aggressive behaviour along the Highway 17 East corridor in Kenora.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
Deborah Stefanek's doctor recommended she take a new medication called Kisempta to treat her relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. She was shocked to learn every province in Canada covers Kisempta under their Pharmacare plans except B.C.
As more people are heading out to enjoy the city’s wilderness areas, North Vancouver RCMP issued water safety tips for those spending time at the North Shore’s rivers and lakes.
A man and a woman have been arrested and charged for last March’s murder of 41-year-old Chad Colivas of Abbotsford, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said Saturday.
The rookie quarterback recorded a pair of touchdown runs, including a late game-winning 46-yard sprint into the end zone, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers survived a comeback bid to open up CFL pre-season play with a 25-23 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday afternoon.
A devastating collision end the lives of three young adults, a Windsor dad said he’s frustrated his 12-year-old son has been charged with assault, and a teenager was arrested for allegedly bringing a gun to school.
The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association says hotels in the area are near capacity this weekend, as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, the Ottawa Redblacks exhibition game, the Great Glebe Garage Sale and other events attract people to Ottawa.
Health Canada has issued a warning about unauthorized amoxicillin capsules seized from a Vanier grocery store, saying the product may pose serious health risks to users.
A Prince Albert man said he can start moving on, now that the woman who attacked his 89-year-old father has been sentenced. He said because of the assault, he lost both his mother and father.
The Catholic school system in Saskatchewan has a long history and is ultimately protected by the province’s constitution. Something the courts have backed up.
