Many Quebecers had to celebrate Christmas in the dark or by candlelight. Nearly 75,000 homes still had no power as of Sunday evening.
At midnight, the Crown corporation was still reporting 2,101 outages across Quebec, which meant a dark Christmas for nearly 75,000 customers. “We have a large, large number of breakdowns where there are 5 customers, 10 customers [touchés et] that’s what makes it longer,” explained Sophie Brochu, dressed in an orange work suit.
The hardest hit region remains the Capitale-Nationale with more than 25,000 Hydro-Québec subscribers still without power.
The other regions most affected are Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (nearly 15,000 customers), Côte-Nord (more than 10,000 customers) then the Laurentians and Mauricie (around 6,000 customers in both cases) .
Since the start of the winter storm, no less than 550,000 Quebec Hydro-Quebec customers have been without power at one time or another, revealed Sophie Brochu.
The latter had warned on Saturday that it would take “a lot of patience and resilience”, adding that the company was doing everything in its power to work “as quickly as possible”.
Have a plan B
The state corporation also said that 1,200 employees are on the ground Sunday to restore service to as many people as possible. Other violent winds, which occurred in certain places in the night from Saturday to Sunday, also come to complicate the work of the teams of Hydro-Québec.
The provider cannot estimate the time to restore service to all customers, due to the complexity of the logistics behind this major operation.
Teams are also moved from one region to another to ensure that the most affected regions have the necessary number of teams on the ground for the scope of the work to be carried out.
Sophie Brochu insisted on Sunday on the importance for customers without electricity for more than 24 hours “to have a plan B”. “If you have resisted until now, then stayed at home, but you think you are going to have a problem, do not hesitate to call on municipal services,” she said, also inviting Quebecers to hear from loved ones living alone.
The use of combustion devices normally used outdoors such as barbecues, stoves or generators indoors should also be avoided given the risk of asphyxiation and carbon monoxide poisoning. -she insists.
Transport disruptions
Quebecers who plan to travel should also take note that many disruptions are still underway in the various modes of transport.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Many flights were disrupted at Montreal-Trudeau airport.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
A man checks if his flight has been delayed or cancelled.
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Environment Canada issued storm warnings for parts of Quebec on Sunday afternoon.
A storm surge warning issued jointly by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Science) and the Meteorological Service of Canada Quebec Region is currently in effect for the Sept-Îles–Port-Cartier area, which poses a risk of surf of waves and coastal overflow.
Environment Canada has also issued a blowing snow advisory for most areas between Montreal and Quebec, which means that “hazardous road conditions can be expected due to reduced visibility in some areas.”
At Montreal-Trudeau airport, flights were delayed, but many planes also managed to leave the tarmac.
VIA Rail Canada trains are also affected by weather conditions, and the railway company announced on its website that “significant delays” were to be expected in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor. Twenty trains were also canceled on Saturday.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Central Station was emptier than usual on Sunday.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The arrivals and departures board at the Montreal station showed cancellations on Sunday morning.
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Due to the derailment of a Canadian National train, VIA Rail has indicated on its website that it is forced “to cancel all trains between Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto and Montreal for December 25th. »
As for Orléans Express coaches, no cancellations were announced on the company’s website on Sunday.
The Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) reported in a press release released Saturday afternoon that its facilities on the Matane-Baie-Comeau-Godbout crossing had been damaged by the storm.
The service to Godbout has therefore been suspended, and all scheduled crossings to or from the municipality will be redirected to Baie-Comeau.
In Matane, the company found no damage to infrastructure, but said navigation conditions remained “difficult”.
The Matane–Baie-Comeau–Godbout crossings scheduled for Monday, December 26 are maintained and service resumes according to the posted schedule, the STQ said in the evening.
She assured that she will inform customers of any changes through her alert system.
With The Canadian Press