Ajit Karn
Ottawa: More than 1.2 million people were without electricity in Canada’s two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, on Thursday morning, a day after frigid rain and strong winds caused trees to fall onto power lines in the southeast of the country.
Overnight and Thursday morning, a thousand employees attempted to restore power in Quebec, according to the province’s electricity provider, who warned that additional disruptions could still occur.
Hydro-Quebec stated in a statement, “We are confident that we can restore power to some of the affected customers today.” Unfortunately, it is already anticipated that some consumers will still be without electricity on Friday and over the weekend.
According to Poweroutage.com, as of 10:35 a.m. (14:35 GMT), approximately 1.1 million people in Quebec and 167,000 people in Ontario were without power. Ontario and Quebec account for more than half of Canada’s approximately 39.6 million inhabitants.
The mayor of Ottawa, Mark Sutcliffe, stated that personnel were expected to restore power to the majority of approximately 65,000 affected customers by noon.
Some areas of the nation’s capital “remain hazardous due to debris that has fallen and power outages that have affected traffic signals,” he said.
Also read: Israel Palestine Conflict: Violence Breaks Out At Jerusalem Holy Site For Second Night
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was scheduled to speak about his government’s budget in Montreal on Thursday, offered federal assistance if necessary.
Hydro-Quebec reports that Montreal is among the cities hardest hit by the power disruptions caused by Wednesday’s ice storm.
