Thousands remain in the dark days after fierce storms knocked out power

Hundreds of Canadians who’ve been with out energy since final week’s fierce winter storms spent Boxing day within the chilly and darkish whereas sturdy winds and excessive tides on the West Coast prompted a flood warning.

The Metropolis of Vancouver issued a flood warning Monday night, saying “exceptionally excessive tide and excessive winds” are forecasted for Tuesday as a consequence of storm surge, with “average to elevated” danger in some low-lying coastal areas.

“Water ranges are forecasted to be at their highest at 9:00 am … (on) December 27, when a king tide mixed with a major storm surge of ocean water from the incoming storm is anticipated to lift the tide to a historic excessive,” learn an announcement.

On the opposite aspect of the nation, utility crews in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick continued working to revive electrical energy to 1000’s of consumers who’ve been at the hours of darkness for days.

Some prepare service will quickly be again to regular, nevertheless, with By way of Rail saying plans to renew trains on its Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes Tuesday, days after a CN prepare derailment pressured the cancellation of these trains scheduled for Christmas and Boxing Day.

CN confirmed in an announcement that the tracks the place its prepare derailed on Christmas Eve will probably be reopened Tuesday and stated By way of Rail plans to run all trains on the route, however on a modified schedule out there on its web site. 

As of Monday night, energy was nonetheless out for over 42,000 Hydro-Québec prospects and over 11,000 Hydro One prospects.

New Brunswick Energy had restored energy by Monday night to a majority of consumers who have been impacted by the storm, which it stated was one of many largest provincewide outage occasions of the final 25 years. The utility stated just below 300 prospects have been nonetheless at the hours of darkness as of Monday night. 

NB Energy saidearlier Monday it was assured there can be some prospects nonetheless with out energy on Tuesday.

Hydro One in Ontario stated it had restored energy to greater than 430,000 prospects for the reason that excessive climate started, however persisting street closures have been impacting its crews’ potential to entry restricted areas.

“Crews are out in full pressure and have gained entry to Walkerton, Picton, Prince Edward County, Napanee and Trenton,” it stated in an announcement issued Monday night.

“Efforts to achieve prospects in Bracebridge and Huntsville proceed. Circumstances in Bracebridge and Parry Sound might worsen with as much as 50 cm of extra snow anticipated.”

Hydro-Québec CEO Sophie Brochu stated earlier Monday it was onerous to supply a exact estimate for when energy can be restored to the shoppers nonetheless with out because of the complexity of the remaining jobs.

Brochu stated extra snow and excessive winds had difficult entry to the websites, lots of which have been set again from roads and will solely be reached by crews on snowshoes or snowmobiles. About half the remaining outages affected 5 prospects or much less, which implies crews have been “working very onerous to revive just a few folks,” she stated.

“We could be working three, 4, 5 hours for a crew of two to revive 5 folks,” she advised reporters in a digital press briefing Monday morning. “It’s price it, don’t get me incorrect, but it surely implies that as a substitute of working 5, six, seven hours and restoring 1,000 folks, each (phase) is admittedly gradual.”

She acknowledged buyer frustration with the wrong estimated timelines on Hydro-Québec’s web site, saying crews generally uncover extra issues as soon as they arrive. Whereas the “overwhelming majority” of outages will probably be resolved by Wednesday, she couldn’t promise that no person can be at the hours of darkness by New 12 months’s Eve.

“No one will probably be forgotten,” she stated. “We may have no give up and no peace till all people is linked again.”

Southern Ontario’s Niagara Area was in its third day below a state of emergency on Monday because of the storm, and a few companies like rubbish and recycling assortment have been cancelled for Boxing Day.

Setting Canada issued a snow squall warning for the area and warned of lowered visibility as a consequence of snowfall that would final till Tuesday afternoon in some areas.

Different components of southern Ontario like Barrie, Parry Sound and Gray-Bruce remained below comparable warnings Monday night.

The climate company additionally issued wind, freezing rain and snowfall warnings for components of Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia, in addition to for excessive chilly in some components of the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

In the meantime, it stated temperatures will rise nicely above the freezing mark all through a lot of southern Quebec and Atlantic Canada starting Wednesday.

Temperatures in Montreal are anticipated to rise to between 0 C and 9 C in the course of the day and as much as 7 C at evening. Related situations are anticipated additional east, with temperatures approaching 10 C in Fredericton and Saint John, N.B. and Charlottetown, whereas RisePEI may hit 11 C on Saturday.

The hotter climate is anticipated to final at the least 4 days, till New 12 months’s Eve.

Setting Canada warned of ice buildup from ongoing freezing rain within the southern space spanning Whistler and the Fraser Valley to the Okanagan Valley, in addition to a particular climate assertion for a lot of the Inside, additionally for attainable freezing rain.

Police in British Columbia have stated they imagine icy situations performed a job in a bus rollover on a freeway within the province’s inside Saturday evening that killed 4 folks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Dec. 26, 2022.

The Canadian Press