Swept by fierce winds, several regions of Quebec are facing power outages. At the end of the evening, more than 50,000 Quebecers are still groping in the dark.
Updated yesterday at 10:06pm.
Environment Canada issued warnings for several regions in southern Quebec on Saturday night. Winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour are expected in the Montreal and Quebec regions during the night from Saturday to Sunday. Several other sectors in the south of the province, including Drummondville, Lanaudière, Saint-Jérôme, Lachute, Kamouraska, Anticosti, Vaudreuil-Soulange and the Richelieu Valley are affected by this warning.
Elsewhere, heavy rain of up to 40 millimeters is forecast, particularly in Gaspésie and on the north coast.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Rain, gusty winds and a few rays of sunshine gave the sky a dramatic look over Montreal at dusk on Saturday.
In the middle of the evening, the Hydro-Québec network is experiencing difficulties due to strong winds, Info-Panes’ website reports. Nearly 70,000 Quebecers were without power around 8 p.m. Two hours later, at 10 p.m., more than 50,000 homes are still immersed in darkness. The hardest-hit region is Montérégie, with more than 21,000 customers without power. Laurentians are second with more than 8,000 households still separated.
Thousands of people also lack electricity in the Montreal, Laval, Lanaudière, Estrie and Center-du-Québec regions.