Panne d'électricité de 4 h & Tornades @ Grand Montréal & Ottawa !
Radio Canada
Une tornade a frappé le secteur de Mirabel, jeudi en fin d'après-midi, a confirmé Environnement Canada. Les violents orages causés par ce système météo ont forcé la fermeture de plusieurs routes de la métropole.
La Ville de Mirabel n'a rapporté aucun dommage ni aucun blessé après le passage de la tornade. Toutes les alertes de tornade sont désormais levées sur le territoire québécois, mais des avertissements et des veilles d'orages violents demeurent en vigueur dans plusieurs régions près de Québec, en Mauricie et dans les Bois-Francs.
Plus tôt dans la journée, des alertes de tornade avaient été lancées pour les secteurs de Trois-Rivières, Mascouche, Rawdon-Joliette, Laval, Lachute, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Jérôme et Vaudreuil.
Outre Mirabel, il y a possiblement [eu] d'autres endroits touchés [par une tornade] dans le sud du Québec
, avance Simon Legault, météorologue pour Environnement Canada.
'No city in the world has the infrastructure to handle that much rain,' city spokesperson says
July 14, 2023
After a severe thunderstorm, Quebecers are still recovering from floods, power outages and fallen trees.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said the storm front that hit the Montreal area on Thursday afternoon caused two tornadoes to touch down — one in Ottawa and one in Mirabel, Que. — as torrential rains fell and strong winds blew.
Though the tornado in Ottawa damaged 125 homes, Mirabel was left without damage.
The heavy winds as fast as 98 kilometres broke trees and damaged Hydro-Québec equipment.
Images shared on social media showed flooded basements, malls and metro stations. Though six underpasses had to close due to flooding Thursday evening, all have reopened, said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.
In Montreal, about 85 millimeters of rain fell in two hours.
"No city in the world has the infrastructure to handle that much rain," he said.
The city says it wants to create more green spaces that can act as sponges, so water gets absorbed into the ground rather than drained into sewers during rain deluges.
Firefighters were deployed to help pump water out of buildings.
Sabourin said the city typically gets 90 millimetres of rain in July — meaning Montreal received almost as much rain it usually sees in July in the span of two hours. The city's sewers simply don't have the capacity to hold that much water, he said, explaining the floods. The city's centre was most affected.
About 130 homes were flooded, and the city's 311 line received over 1,300 calls. About 300 trees and branches fell, and blue collar workers will be on cleanup duty Friday, said Sabourin.
"We have enough manpower today, it's nothing compared to the ice storm we saw in April," he said.
Sabourin says it's important to follow Environment Canada warnings, especially as intense weather events become more common due to climate change. He stresses homeowners make sure their check valves, which help water flow, stay in good condition.
The city also strongly recommends people avoid participating in water sports for the day as the rain water could have contaminated the St. Lawrence River.
Power Outages
Over 200,000 Hydro-Québec customers were still without power as of 7 a.m. Friday, including a trade school, the Gordon Robertson Beauty Academy, in Beaconsfield, Que., which had to close for the day.
In the hours leading up to the storm, half a million Hydro-Québec customers across the province lost power as forest fires in the James Bay region triggered grid protection mechanisms. Just as power was beginning to be restored, the numbers shot up again as the storm swept through.
Hydro-Québec says it can't give an estimate of when everyone's power will be restored until the damage to its infrastructure is assessed.
It will give an update on the situation at noon.
"We had a severe storm yesterday across the province and we are seeing on the ground that some of our poles are broken, some conductors and cables are on the ground, some trees and branches have fallen on our equipment. These are all challenges our team will face," said Hydro-Québec spokesperson Caroline Des Rosiers.
July 14, 2023
More than 200,000 Hydro-Quebec customers remain without electricity the morning after a powerful storm pummelled the province's southwest.
Most (77,000) of those customers were in Montreal as of 6:30 a.m. Friday, with 273 interruptions to Hydro-Quebec's network. The West Island, South Shore and the southwest portion of Montreal are the hardest hit.
Outages are also significant in Quebec's Montérégie (70,000) and Lanaudière (32,000) regions.
On Twitter Friday morning, Hydro-Quebec said 400 teams are on the ground to make repairs.
"Teams are currently travelling to the most affected areas to assist in recovery efforts. In 12 hours yesterday, we resupplied 50 per cent of the customers affected by the event," the Tweet reads.
No weather alerts remained in place for Ottawa or Gatineau by 4 p.m.
Ottawa Citizen
Mohanad Hachem was in his house on Bellatrix Walk in Barrhaven on Thursday when he heard the roar of a storm and looked out to see the approaching funnel cloud.
“I looked through the door and saw the tornado coming from over there and all the white blocks in the air,” Hachem said. “We closed the door, and me and my son were holding it and it pushed us back. It pushed us hard.”
The two managed to close and lock the door.
“Then the whole house started shaking. Then, in a few seconds, it went quiet.”
Hachem went outside and saw shattered windows on his neighbours’ houses. The wind overturned his barbecue and knocked the air conditioner off its pad, but overall the house sustained little damage.
Kim Ayotte general manager of emergency and protective services for the City of Ottawa, said at least one tornado touched down in the Barrhaven area. No serious injuries have been reported. One person was taken to hospital in stable condition, Ottawa paramedics said.
“(The city) has been doing a door-to-door assessment of every house,” Ayotte said during a media briefing Thursday, adding that early information indicated that there were 125 houses that sustained damage.
Two tornado warnings were issued for the Ottawa region Thursday afternoon, the first around 1 p.m., about when the tornado hit, and then a second around 2:45 p.m. No weather alerts remained active in Ottawa or Gatineau as of 6 p.m.
A family reunification centre was established at the Minto Recreation Complex at 3500 Cambrian Rd. in Barrhaven for those affected.
Ayotte asked residents in damaged homes to be on the lookout for hazardous conditions such as fires, gas leaks, electrical shorts, broken water lines, broken glass as well as any spilled flammable or hazardous materials.
“If your home or building shows any sign of partial or full collapse or a fire, please evacuate the premises immediately,” Ayotte said, reminding residents to also stay away from downed power lines and electrical wires and refrain from operating a portable generator inside.
“If you smell a gas leak, evacuate the premises and call 911.”
Ayotte said public work teams have been deployed to the area to begin assessing the damage, clearing roads and triaging areas to be cleaned. He asked those living outside of Barrhaven to avoid travelling to the area to “allow city crews to do their jobs as quickly as possible.”
Steve Bell of the Ottawa Police Service said one hydro poll was down and impacted about 1,600 for a period Thursday.
Bell said homes which are presenting a risk for gas leaks are being checked by fire services with Enbridge Gas to identify any further safety risks.
“Over 50 police officers responded to the scene and continue to assist Ottawa Fire Services who is going door-to-door to check on members of the public and to assess damage,” Bell said.
“This incident still has a large footprint and officers and all city and service partners are working together.”
Bell said a road closure was in effect at Cambrian Road between Borrisokane Road and Seeley’s Bay due to fallen trees, electrical wires, and other debris. He said other localized road closures may come into effect as needed.
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