The cold snap hit several hospitals in the Eastern Townships, causing broken pipes and heating problems.
At the Hôtel-Dieu in Sherbrooke, two broken sprinklers caused major water damage on Saturday. Drying and dehumidification work is still in progress and should continue over several days.
“Unfortunately, the water leaked in the emergency room,” said The Press Annie-Andrée Émond, spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS. A complete emergency sector had to be closed and another partially closed.
A site was opened on the fifth floor to receive patients who were present at the time of the water leak.
Since the work is slowing down the work of health professionals, the CIUSSS asks the population to use the services “judiciously” and to go to the emergency room only for urgent situations. Urgent situations will be handled with the same efficiency as usual, maintains the CIUSSS.
Many inconveniences
Water damage and some heating problems also occurred at the Fleurimont Hospital. On Sunday afternoon, however, the heating problems were resolved and the draining work underway.
Water damage also occurred in the cafeteria of the Youville Hospital and residential centre. Since the kitchen was not affected, the production of meals for the residents could be maintained.
The reorganization of services has also led to the postponement of medical appointments. “All those affected are or will be notified by telephone,” said Ms.me Emond.
Wind chill values reached -48 in Sherbrooke in the last few days.
Breakdowns and delays
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Residents of the Villeray district, in Montreal, were without power for many hours on Saturday.
The cold snap that swept across Quebec continued to harm many citizens on Sunday. At the start of the afternoon, 8,500 customers across the province were still without electricity, including 3,100 in Montreal, according to Hydro-Quebec’s report. The day before, 17,100 customers were plunged into darkness.
The extreme cold that prevailed caused a slowdown in ground operations at the Montreal airport, which had an impact on flight schedules and baggage handling. On Sunday, many flights were still delayed.