All schools in Montreal will be closed Thursday due to freezing rain that plunged nearly 990,000 Hydro-Quebec customers into darkness across the province.
“Due to the power outages affecting many of its buildings and the uncertainty regarding the restoration of service by Hydro-Québec, the CSSDM is now informing the population of its territory that all establishments, daycare services and CSSDM administrative offices will be closed for the whole day on April 6,” the CSSDM said on its website on Thursday evening.
No course or distance learning is planned for all primary, secondary and adult students. Only staff in essential services will have to perform work, face-to-face or telework.
The establishments and daycare services of the CSSMB will also be closed, while the staff of the administrative services are called upon to remain in telework “with the exception of those who are unable to work due to the breakdown”.
“The school calendar provides for a resumption of this class day over the next few weeks”, we also specify in a press release posted on the organization’s website.
The English Montreal School Board and the Center de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île also announced that their establishments would be closed for the same reasons.
Nearly a million homes plunged into darkness
At 10:31 p.m. Wednesday, Hydro-Québec counted 988,368 customers without electricity across the province, including 455,615 in Montreal, 194,705 in Montérégie and 130,246 in Outaouais.
In the latter region, more than half of Hydro-Québec customers are without electricity
The metropolitan area is still under a freezing rain warning with risk of thunderstorms, and accumulations that can reach 10 to 20 millimeters depending on the sector.
At 4:05 p.m., the Ministry of Transport announced the closure of the Victoria Bridge, between Montreal and Saint-Lambert, for “an indefinite period” due to “difficult weather conditions”. The detour is via the Samuel-De Champlain bridge.
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PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
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PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
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Footage taken circulating on social media shows huge broken trees, cut wires and other disasters caused by the spring storm.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A fallen tree in Montreal
The Central 911 is currently receiving “a high volume of calls related to the ice storm”, indicated on Twitter the Police Department of the City of Montreal. “To report the damage to your insurer, no police report is required. If a situation endangers safety or traffic, contact 911 immediately,” she said.
Spokesperson at Hydro-Québec, Gabrielle Leblanc assures that teams are at work “on the ground”, but that the weather conditions are difficult for the technicians.
“There are broken branches, affected wires. It was the combination of precipitation and wind that caused the breaks in the network,” she explains. Hydro-Québec plans to provide an update on operations in the coming hours.
The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, called on motorists to adapt their driving and to be careful. “The coordination center has been in place since yesterday and the teams from the Ministry of Public Security are in communication with all the stakeholders. Hydro-Québec is mobilized, ”he said on Twitter.
Last hint of winter
Meteorologist at Environment Canada, André Cantin reminds us that this phenomenon is not exceptional at the beginning of April. But, according to him, it is most likely the last whiff of winter.
“We can expect the sun thereafter, he assures, with a rising mercury, temperatures reaching 15, even 20 degrees in the middle of next week. “. For the record, he recalls, Quebec had experienced a similar meteorological phenomenon, on April 8, 2019, with ice that had turned into snow.