The freezing rain that fell on Quebec is wreaking havoc: in all, more than 810,000 customers concentrated in the regions of Montreal, Montérégie and Outaouais were without electricity on Wednesday evening.
The Victoria Bridge, linking Montreal to Saint-Lambert, has been completely closed to traffic since 4 p.m. for an indefinite period, which has worsened traffic congestion in the middle of rush hour. The detour is via the Samuel-De Champlain bridge, indicates the Quebec 511 site.
At 7:02 p.m., nearly a third of the clientele in Montreal and more than half of the clientele in the Outaouais had lost power. A total of 814,261 customers out of 4,538,200 did not have access to electricity.
On Twitter, Hydro-Québec clarified in the middle of the afternoon that it is impossible to know when the outages will end. “As the weather event is still ongoing, other outages could occur and the situation may still evolve on the ground. It is therefore unfortunately not possible to give a precise recovery time for each location. »
More than 500 employees are on the ground to restore the situation, says the state company.
The freezing rains of the last few hours are currently causing #breakdowns in several regions of Quebec. Failures are mainly caused by the weight of the #black ice which causes branches and trees to break near the electrical network and come into contact… pic.twitter.com/mGQjGJlgHj
— Hydro-Quebec (@hydroquebec) April 5, 2023
Several tens of millimeters of water fell all over the province during the day. Most of the territory is subject to a freezing rain warning from Environment Canada.
Authorities follow-up
The communications department of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) informs the Duty that several “broken branch” or “fallen electrical wire” type events have taken place, but that there is no major event with injuries to report. The 911 central receives a high volume of calls, but “we are able to respond to all calls and all situations on the ground,” says SPVM spokesperson Véronique Dubuc.
For his part, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, said on Twitter to follow the situation closely. “The coordination center has been in place since yesterday and the teams from the [ministère de la Sécurité publique] are in communication with all stakeholders. […] If you have to hit the road, adapt your driving and be careful. »
A severe ice storm is in progress. The coordination center has been in place since yesterday and the MSP teams are in communication with all the stakeholders. @hydroquebec is mobilized. If you have to hit the road, adapt your driving and be careful. https://t.co/VQeMOcy9rt
— Francois Bonnardel (@fbonnardelCAQ) April 5, 2023
The Montreal Fire Department (SIM) invites citizens to dial 911 or 311 for any emergency. “Our teams are currently working on the ground”, indicates the SIM.
Freezing rain ????️????❄️
Our teams are currently working on the ground. For any emergency, the following telephone lines remain available 24 hours a day:
9⃣1⃣1⃣: when a person’s health or life is at risk
3⃣1⃣1⃣: rapid or priority interventions— MTL Fire Safety (@MTL_SIM) April 5, 2023
Citizens react
On Twitter, several citizens shared stunning photos showing trees that had collapsed right in the street.
I saw him fall while picking up the mail.
It’s instantaneous.
No injuries but the occupants of the taxi which was passing below at the same time must have had a big scare.
The police are already on the spot (of he electric touch)It’s not time to take a walk!
Caution! pic.twitter.com/QCaEkhkREg— boisclair amelie (@boisclairameli1) April 5, 2023
Parc La Fontaine was not spared by the ice storm.
The sound of breaking trees reminds me of memories of 1998. The surroundings of Parc Lafontaine should be avoided for pedestrians and cyclists. pic.twitter.com/mIp5zcyXvo
— Marie-France Lemaine (@Mefel) April 5, 2023
Other regions affected
The movement of the weather system should move towards the east of the province during the afternoon.
“We expect the ice storm to be over by the end of the day for the Western regions, but we can see that the storm is moving towards Quebec and the East, slowly but surely. Our teams will be ready to intervene if necessary,” says Hydro-Québec spokesperson Gabrielle Leblanc.
Environment Canada predicts that 5 to 10 millimeters of ice will fall in Mauricie, in the Quebec region and in Beauce from Wednesday evening until Thursday morning.
The Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region will be slightly spared, while only 2 to 4 millimeters of ice should fall by Thursday.
With The Canadian Press