Many residents of Quebec and Ontario were without electricity after severe lightning-thunderstorms left their state at least five people died on both sides of the interprovincial border.
One person died on the Ottawa River in Gatineau and another on the western end of Ottawa, but authorities have released some details on the circumstances of the deaths until the family of the deceased is notified.
Two more people were killed in Ontario when trees fell on them Saturday. The storm also caused damage through which it passed, at least three of them being in critical condition in Ottawa territory.
As of Sunday morning, 418,452 Hydro-Québec customers were without electricity in the regions where the storms were most violent (the Capitale-Nationale, Lanaudière, the Laurentians, the Estrie and the Outaouais.
In Ontario, 329,950 Hydro One customers are without electricity at the time of this writing, as well as 171,076 homes served by Hydro Ottawa.
Hail and wind over 100 km/h
In Ontario, the very strong line of thunderstorms which passed through most of the southern part of the province came from Sarnia on Saturday morning and continued its course throughout the day towards Ottawa, according to a preliminary report published last night by Environment Canada.
The system crossed the Ottawa River and crossed into Quebec along an axis from Haute-Gatineau to Montmagny. The storms also threw hailstones measuring from 2 to 4 centimeters into areas, according to Environment Canada.
The federal agency recorded winds blowing from 83 to 132 km / h along the route of the storms. The data in Quebec is similar, but it is in Lake Memphremagog that the blast is the strongest. Preliminary data indicate that the wind has reached peaks of 144 km/h.
Source: Radio-Canada
