Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
As the death toll related to the powerful storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, some of the hardest-hit communities were still working to take stock of the damage.
"It's probably easier for us to count the homes that have no damage, than the ones that have damage," said Clarence-Rockland fire chief Pierre Voisine, while surveying wreckage in nearby Hammond, Ont. on Monday.
The region was hit hard enough by the storm to leave some homes reduced to twisted piles of timber, while downed power lines and broken telephone polls are still blocking streets strewn with debris from uprooted trees and the wreckage of buildings.
The scale of the destruction prompted the community, along with the town of Uxbridge, Ont. east of Toronto, to declare a state of emergency.
Hammond resident Mijanou Guibord felt the devastation first-hand when the house she bought brand-new in December was destroyed by the high winds.
"I was sitting in the living room with my dog -- he is a PTSD dog I got to help me after my house before was destroyed by fire -- and I saw a red tin roof flying. I grabbed him by the neck and we ran down stairs," said Guibord on Monday as she looked on at what remained of her home.
"All the windows were smashed in. I yelled out 'help me' from the basement. My neighbour kicked the doors in. The whole house was demolished. My car is still in there."
Dominic Couture, the neighbour who came to Guibord's rescue, said that while his house was only somewhat hit with a large dent on the side, the pickup truck he finished paying off four months ago was crushed.
"My truck was parked in the front of the house and I think it flew into the back," he said. "It's a Dodge Ram and it is demolished."
The level of destruction in the area is underscoring how long some of the recovery efforts will take, as hydro providers warn that it could still be days before power is fully restored.
Hydro One was reporting about 185,000 customers were still without power As of mid-afternoon Monday, though service had been restored to more than 380,000 customers.
Across the provincial border, Hydro-Quebec had around 1,500 outages affecting just over 200,000 customers.
Provincial Energy Minister Jonatan Julien held a last-minute news conference Monday morning, saying the goal is to re-establish power to 80 per cent of residents before the end of the day.
Some residents, however, expressed frustration as to how the provider has communicated the restoration plan.
Marie-Eve Cloutier, a pregnant woman who lives in Quebec City, said she spent 25 hours without electricity and was in a constant state of anxiety wondering when power might come back.
She said Hydro-Quebec's website indicated the restoration in her area was a 'work in progress' leading her to believe issues would be resolved more quickly than they were.
"It's not their fault that there's no electricity, or that the work to restore it takes more than 24 hours," Cloutier said on Monday. "It's the lack of communication that was bad."
Hydro Ottawa said it had restored power to more than 70,000 customers as of mid-morning Monday, while an estimated 110,000 customers were still without power.
The utility said the damage is significantly worse than the 1998 Ice Storm and the tornadoes of 2018, adding it has brought in crews from as far as the Toronto area and New Brunswick to assist in repairs.
"The level of damage to our distribution system is simply beyond comprehension," Hydro Ottawa said on Twitter Monday. "We're managing this from a whole of city perspective given that no single area of the City is unaffected in some manner."
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced all schools and child-care centres would be closed on Tuesday du to ongoing safety concerns posed by the storm.
"Approximately half of our schools are without power at this time and municipal officials are urging residents to stay off city streets as they attempt to stabilize roadways and traffic lights," the board said in a notice to parents.
The storm tore through southern Ontario and Quebec in a matter of hours, breaking hydro poles and toppling towers, uprooting trees, and ripping shingles and siding off houses.
While Environment and Climate Change Canada sent out an alert warning people of the storm, the fast-moving system caught many off-guard.
The total death toll from Saturday's storm is still unclear, but police in Ontario have reported eight people killed by falling trees in locations across the province during the storm Saturday, and a ninth killed by a falling tree branch during the aftermath on Sunday.
A 10th person died Saturday when the boat she was in capsized on the Ottawa River near Masson-Angers, Que.
The latest victim was confirmed Monday by Peterborough Police, who said a 61-year-old Lakefield man died during the storm from a falling tree.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2022.
-- With files from Ian Bickis in Toronto and Virginie Ann in Montreal.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign amid party revolt
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, his office said Thursday, ending an unprecedented political crisis over his future that has paralyzed Britain's government.

Here's who could replace Boris Johnson as U.K. prime minister
Boris Johnson was due to resign as Britain's prime minister on Thursday, bringing an end to a turbulent two and half years in office and triggering a search for a new leader.
The next stage in the battle against COVID-19: bivalent vaccines
Several vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop formulas that take into account the more infectious Omicron variant now driving cases, while policymakers are laying the groundwork for another large-scale vaccine blitz.
Ukrainian medic released in prisoner exchange accuses captors of torture
A well-known Ukrainian paramedic who was held prisoner by Russian and separatist forces for three months after being captured in the southeastern city of Mariupol has accused her guards of psychological and physical torture during her time in captivity.
Intense video shows worker dangling from crane at Toronto construction site
Video has emerged showing a worker dangling in the air above a Toronto construction site after accidently getting entangled in a tagline attached to a crane.
Feds intend to keep ArriveCan for its data on COVID-19-positive travellers: sources
The federal government has no intention of dropping the controversial ArriveCan app because it gives the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) key health information about travellers who test positive for COVID-19 through testing at airports and land borders, senior government sources tell CTV News.
Conservative party disputes Brown’s allegation political corruption behind his disqualification
Patrick Brown is alleging political corruption played a role in his disqualification from the Conservative Party of Canada's leadership race, a move that came following allegations that his campaign violated election financing rules.
Brittney Griner trial in Russia resumes amid calls for U.S. to strike deal
Jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner returns to a Russian court on Thursday amid a growing chorus of calls for Washington to do more to secure her release nearly five months after she was arrested on drug charges.
Patrick Brown to remain on Conservative leadership ballots despite disqualification
Despite being disqualified by the Conservative Party of Canada from becoming its next leader, ousted candidate Patrick Brown's name will still appear on the ballot.
W5 HIGHLIGHTS
Six ways to tell if your child is addicted to video games
As the pandemic keeps people indoors, children and youth are turning to video games at an alarming rate. Sometimes with grave consequences. W5 investigates how much is too much?

Prescription drug side-effects: How they're vastly under-reported and one man's tragic, cautionary tale
An Ontario man shares his horrifying story of murder as W5 investigates the widespread under-reporting of serious side-effects from prescription drugs.

Families falsely accused of child abuse call for mandatory medical second opinions
Families across the country tell W5 they were falsely accused of child abuse after bringing their sick or injured child to the hospital. Some parents are calling for mandatory medical second opinions when it comes to cases flagged in hospitals.

Lisa Raitt shares the pain behind her husband's devastating diagnosis
Former Deputy Leader of the Conservatives Lisa Raitt shares the pain behind her husband's devastating diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's and the story of their enduring love, in a candid and revealing interview with CTV W5.
W5 INVESTIGATES | Viral Facebook post sparks criminal investigation into pediatric dentist
W5 investigates disturbing allegations against a pediatric dentist in Nova Scotia whose treatment of children over five decades is now an alleged crime.
Did politics muzzle a doctor who spoke out about the Ontario government's COVID-19 response?
CTV W5's latest investigation: For a year, Dr. Brooks Fallis ran the Critical Care unit at a Brampton Hospital. He openly criticized Premier Ford’s COVID-19 response and was warned by his bosses there could be consequences.
Exclusive: Doctors tell W5 why they spoke out during the pandemic
For the past two years, a number of doctors across Canada have advocated for their patients and questioned the role of politics in the handling of COVID-19. To explore the issues, W5 convened a group of seven physicians from across the country.
W5 Investigates | Canadian doctors decide whether Indigenous women are fit to be mothers
W5 investigates Canadian doctors performing the irreversible procedure of forced sterilizations on Indigenous women.