Hundreds of Thousands of Canadians Without Power As Christmas Storm Rages

A transport truck drives along Highway 401 in London, Ontario, Canada, during a large wint
GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians saw power outages due to the Christmas storm engulfing large parts of the country as railway and airlines cancel services.

Power outages caused by freezing temperatures and high winds affected hundreds of thousands of people across many of Canada’s provinces Saturday morning, including Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and the eastern Maritimes.

Around 82,000 people in Ontario went without power on Saturday morning, largely in the eastern and southern areas as well as in the north of the province. Ontario’s main power company Hydro One explained it was difficult for crews to repair any damages due to the winter storm conditions, broadcaster CBC reports

In Quebec, around 307,000 people faced power outages, largely centred around the Quebec city area and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.

The storm, which started on Friday, has also led to Canadian officials advising that people avoid travelling on highways and other roads due to the poor visibility and conditions on the roads.

The conditions have already led to accidents in Ontario, including a pile-up of around a hundred vehicles on the 401 highway south of the city of London on Friday, with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reporting “dozens and dozens of collisions.”

While one officer stated that the incident was “one of the worst traffic scenes” he had ever seen, only two people were taken to a local hospital as a result, thankfully both with injuries deemed not to be life-threatening.

The storm has also affected rail travel in Ontario and Quebec, with VIA Rail cancelling trains due to both power outages and due to trees that had fallen on the tracks on Friday due to the strong winds.

WestJet, Canada’s second-largest domestic airline, cancelled flights across Canada due to the storm on Friday, with 243 flights cancelled in total in Vancouver, Vancouver Island, southern Ontario and Quebec.

“The prolonged and extreme weather events that continue to impact multiple regions across Canada are unlike anything we’ve experienced,” WestJet’s chief operations officer Diederik Pen said.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

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