Death toll from Saturday’s storm hits 10 as communities survey damage

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CLARENCE-ROCKLAND, Ont. — Because the dying toll associated to the highly effective storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, a number of the hardest-hit communities have been nonetheless working to take inventory of the harm.

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“It’s in all probability simpler for us to rely the houses that don’t have any harm, than those which have harm,” mentioned Clarence-Rockland fireplace chief Pierre Voisine, whereas surveying wreckage in close by Hammond, Ont. on Monday.

The area was hit exhausting sufficient by the storm to go away some houses diminished to twisted piles of timber, whereas downed energy strains and damaged phone polls are nonetheless blocking streets strewn with particles from uprooted bushes and the wreckage of buildings.

The size of the destruction prompted the neighborhood, together with the city of Uxbridge, Ont. east of Toronto, to declare a state of emergency.

Hammond resident Mijanou Guibord felt the devastation first-hand when the home she purchased brand-new in December was destroyed by the excessive winds.

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“I used to be sitting in the lounge with my canine — he’s a PTSD canine I received to assist me after my home earlier than was destroyed by fireplace — and I noticed a crimson tin roof flying. I grabbed him by the neck and we ran down stairs,” mentioned Guibord on Monday as she regarded on at what remained of her dwelling.

“All of the home windows have been smashed in. I yelled out ‘assist me’ from the basement. My neighbour kicked the doorways in. The entire home was demolished. My automotive continues to be in there.”

Dominic Couture, the neighbour who got here to Guibord’s rescue, mentioned that whereas his home was solely considerably hit with a big dent on the facet, the pickup truck he completed paying off 4 months in the past was crushed.

“My truck was parked within the entrance of the home and I feel it flew into the again,” he mentioned. “It’s a Dodge Ram and it’s demolished.”

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The extent of destruction within the space is underscoring how lengthy a number of the restoration efforts will take, as hydro suppliers warn that it might nonetheless be days earlier than energy is absolutely restored.

Hydro One was reporting about 185,000 prospects have been nonetheless with out energy As of mid-afternoon Monday, although service had been restored to greater than 380,000 prospects.

Throughout the provincial border, Hydro-Quebec had round 1,500 outages affecting simply over 200,000 prospects.

Provincial Power Minister Jonatan Julien held a last-minute information convention Monday morning, saying the aim is to re-establish energy to 80 per cent of residents earlier than the top of the day.

Some residents, nevertheless, expressed frustration as to how the supplier has communicated the restoration plan.

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Marie-Eve Cloutier, a pregnant girl who lives in Quebec Metropolis, mentioned she spent 25 hours with out electrical energy and was in a continuing state of hysteria questioning when energy may come again.

She mentioned Hydro-Quebec’s web site indicated the restoration in her space was a ‘work in progress’ main her to imagine points can be resolved extra rapidly than they have been.

“It’s not their fault that there’s no electrical energy, or that the work to revive it takes greater than 24 hours,” Cloutier mentioned on Monday. “It’s the shortage of communication that was unhealthy.”

Hydro Ottawa mentioned it had restored energy to greater than 70,000 prospects as of mid-morning Monday, whereas an estimated 110,000 prospects have been nonetheless with out energy.

The utility mentioned the harm is considerably worse than the 1998 Ice Storm and the tornadoes of 2018, including it has introduced in crews from so far as the Toronto space and New Brunswick to help in repairs.

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“The extent of injury to our distribution system is solely past comprehension,” Hydro Ottawa mentioned on Twitter Monday. “We’re managing this from an entire of metropolis perspective provided that no single space of the Metropolis is unaffected in some method.”

The Ottawa-Carleton District College Board introduced all faculties and child-care centres can be closed on Tuesday du to ongoing security issues posed by the storm.

“Roughly half of our faculties are with out energy right now and municipal officers are urging residents to remain off metropolis streets as they try and stabilize roadways and visitors lights,” the board mentioned in a discover to oldsters.

The storm tore via southern Ontario and Quebec in a matter of hours, breaking hydro poles and toppling towers, uprooting bushes, and ripping shingles and siding off homes.

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Whereas Atmosphere and Local weather Change Canada despatched out an alert warning individuals of the storm, the fast-moving system caught many off-guard.

The overall dying toll from Saturday’s storm continues to be unclear, however police in Ontario have reported eight individuals killed by falling bushes in places throughout the province in the course of the storm Saturday, and a ninth killed by a falling tree department in the course of the aftermath on Sunday.

A tenth individual died Saturday when the boat she was in capsized on the Ottawa River close to Masson-Angers, Que.

The most recent sufferer was confirmed Monday by Peterborough Police, who mentioned a 61-year-old Lakefield man died in the course of the storm from a falling tree.

— With recordsdata from Ian Bickis in Toronto and Virginie Ann in Montreal.