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(Bloomberg) – Quebec and Ontario power utilities are working to restore service to nearly 900,000 customers who were stranded after severe damage from a thunderstorm and eight deaths.
Hydro Quebec and Hydro One are assembling crews after leaving 550,000 and 351,000 clients without electricity, respectively, the companies said in a separate statement. Hydro One said it expects it to take “a few days” for all customers to recover electricity, while Hydro Quebec declined to provide a deadline “due to the large number of locations affected”.
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A very strong line of thunderstorms formed near Sarnia, near the Port Huron border in Michigan on Saturday morning, and tracked northeast of southern Ontario. Severe weather hit Toronto and then parts of Quebec before heading to Ottawa on Saturday afternoon.
According to a preliminary report on the website of the Federal Government Meteorological Agency, strong winds of 144 kilometers (89.5 miles) per hour killed five people and injured several others. The death toll rose to eight, the CTV news television channel reported on its website on Sunday, citing a police report.
The Hydro One statement said, “The initial damage reported is significant and includes hundreds of broken poles, several broken transmission towers, fallen trees and many power lines, including broken limbs.” . “
The province of New Brunswick and a southern part of Quebec are on high alert for thunderstorms, the federal government said Sunday.
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