The death toll from powerful thunderstorms in Canada’s two most populous provinces has risen to at least eight, authorities said Sunday as emergency crews continued a major clean-up to restore power to half a million people.
The storms, which lasted more than two hours on Saturday afternoon and filled the force of the tornado, left a trail of destruction in parts of Ontario and Quebec. Gusts of 132 km / h (82 mph) felled trees, uprooted power poles and toppled many metal transmission towers, utility companies said.
Electric companies struggled on Sunday to restore transmission lines. Most of the deaths from the storms occurred when people were hit by falling trees, authorities said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government was ready to help those in need.
“We think of all those affected and thank the crews who are working to restore power,” Trudeau tweeted Sunday.
Hydro One, Ontario’s largest power company, tweeted Sunday that crews were responding to significant damage. Environment Canada has issued mobile signals warning of strong thunderstorms.
Hydro One teams have restored power to more than 360,000 customers, leaving more than 226,000 customers without power, the company said in a statement late Sunday.
Recovery efforts are likely to continue for several days before power is restored to all customers, the company said.
Add Comment