Violent storms: considerable damage in Quebec

Violent storms swept through Quebec.

Many Quebecers are still without power on Sunday due to the violent storms that hit across Quebec yesterday.

Uprooted trees, broken branches, torn roofs, electric poles on the ground: a lot of damage was observed in southern Quebec. More than 361 Hydro-Quebec crews were at work this morning restoring power, the state-owned company announced via Twitter.

“We know that the situation is difficult and we want to assure you that we are doing everything to restore power as quickly as possible, indicates Hydro-Québec on its Facebook page. For your safety, it is essential not to approach electrical wires. Professionals are on the ground at the moment to restore the service.

The state-owned company specifies that some storm cells even created microbursts and microtornadoes.

According to the 11:55 a.m. report, 370,436 customers were still without electricity at across the province, including 145,761 households in the Laurentians.

According to Environment Canada, hailstones of a size of 2 to 4 centimeters were observed in places. Winds blew up to 144 km/h at Lake Memphremagog and up to 128 km/h in Shawinigan.

A 51-year-old woman lost her life on the Ottawa River near Masson-Angers, according to the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau. 

Ontario was also hit by severe thunderstorms. Five deaths have been reported, as well as a few injuries, according to Environment Canada.

At the beginning of the afternoon, Prime Minister François Legault thanked the Hydro-Québec teams for their work, via Twitter.

This afternoon and tonight , the conditions will be conducive to the formation of violent thunderstorms which could cause tornadoes in certain areas, particularly in Estrie and Beauce, according to the federal agency.