The huge storms that swept across eastern Canada on Saturday, cutting power to up to 900,000 homes, particularly in the Ottawa region, killed at least eight people, according to an official report, which was revised upwards on Sunday, May 22.
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The Ontario Provincial Police announced to broadcaster CTVNews the deaths of seven people who were killed by falling trees and branches on Saturday, while emergency services counted three the day before. The eighth death was recorded on the Ottawa River on Saturday when a canoeist drowned off Gatineau, a Quebec suburb of Ottawa.
Gusts at 140 km/h
Fierce winds peaking at more than 90 mph swept into eastern Canada from the central United States on Saturday, national meteorology summarized on Sunday, stressing that it was a rare phenomenon known as “derecho.” will.
“This storm was almost 1000 km long, from Michigan to Maine”, the American states were located in the center and in the north-east of the country and extended over the Canadian provinces “Ontario and Quebec”, according to a summary on local radio David Philipps, meteorologist the Federal Environment Ministry.
“Derecho” phenomenon
“It’s called derecho: a long series of thunderstorms and microbursts,” explained the renowned scientist, noting that “derecho” “is not a word we use often, but a rare phenomenon. The federal capital Ottawa was particularly hard hit, with thousands of homes still in darkness as of Sunday night while the streets were still strewn with tree branches and various objects carried by the winds, which in places took the shape of a tornado.
“The last 24 hours have been very, very difficult,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said at a news conference Sunday afternoon, asking his fellow citizens to “remain optimistic despite the challenges posed by the devastation of this summer storm.”
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Local authorities said it would take several days to clear all blocked streets and roads and return to normal. Around 300,000 homes, particularly in the Ottawa and Laurentians regions (north of Montreal), were still without power as of Sunday night, according to online statements from local utility companies Hydro One and Hydro-Quebec.