A tornado struck the Mirabel area late Thursday afternoon, Environment Canada confirmed. The violent storms caused by this weather system forced the closure of several roads in the metropolis.
The city of Mirabel reported no damage or casualties after the tornado passed. All tornado warnings in Quebec territory have now been lifted, but warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings remain in effect in several regions near Quebec City, in Mauricie and in the Bois-Francs.
Tornado warnings had previously been issued for the Trois-Rivières, Mascouche, Rawdon-Joliette, Laval, Lachute, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil areas.
In addition to Mirabel, there may be [eu] other places affected [par une tornade] in southern Quebec, says Simon Legault, weather forecaster for Environment Canada.
Another tornado would have been sighted in a field in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, but Environment Canada must first conduct analysis before the phenomenon can be confirmed.
Floods and disrupted flights
Severe thunderstorms disrupted operations at Montréal-Trudeau Airport from 3:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Several flights have been delayed, canceled or diverted, particularly to Ottawa Airport.
To ensure the safety of ground staff, there is a flash warning [à un rayon de 8 km du site aéroportuaire] leads to a stop in apron operations, explains Eric Forest, spokesman for Aéroports de Montréal.
Workers must not be left unprotected […]which means loading and delivering luggage, fueling planes or even delivering meals[ven]”There’s no stopping it,” he continues.
After the lightning alert was lifted, activities gradually resumed from 6:30 p.m.
Elsewhere in Montreal, the flooding closed several streets in the metropolis. Some vehicles are still stuck waiting to be towed, but all drivers have been evacuated.
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A section of Avenue De Lorimier is flooded due to heavy rains.
Photo: Radio Canada / Josee Marie Robitaille
As for public transport, there was water ingress at the Square-Victoria-OACI tube station, where an evacuation is currently underway. Justine Lord-Dufour, spokeswoman for the Société de transport de Montréal, explains that the subway service will be maintained, but will not stop at the station.
Delays are to be expected with the buses. Several lines would have to make detours due to flooding and motorists would have to adapt their driving to the current conditions, the spokesman added.
The Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, assured on Twitter that despite the strength of the storm, no major damage to municipal infrastructure had occurred so far.
Hydro-Québec is ready to intervene
In the afternoon, more than 500,000 Hydro Quebec subscribers were without power due to weather conditions, but also to the wildfires in Baie-James. However, the state-owned company restored power to several of them, and as of 7:30 p.m. nearly 359,000 customers were without power.
There were 124,000 in Montérégie, nearly 13,000 in the Laurentians, and nearly 143,000 in Montreal. Hydro-Québec states that power outages can be caused by wind or vegetation falling on its facilities.
Restoring power to all homes currently without electricity could take more than 24 hours or even 48 hours, said Hydro-Québec spokesman Maxence Huard-Lefebvre.
To give you more details, we need to patrol our lines and network. […] We have to see the damage visually, he explains. The spokesman assures that more staff are already on site.
The population can prepare by charging electronic devices and unplugging those that use a lot of electricity to avoid surges. Another tip: Prepare meals and snacks that can be eaten cold and open the fridge and freezer as little as possible, reminds Hydro-Québec spokeswoman Caroline Des Rosiers.
In the event of a breakdown, citizens are asked to preventively contact the vulnerable people around them.
To find out about the situation in a specific region, it is recommended to consult the Hydro-Québec Info-pannes (New Window) website.
What to do in an emergency
Thunderstorm or tornado monitoring means the conditions are in place for a tornado and severe thunderstorm to form, while sending an alert when the phenomenon is imminent and entering a specific area, meteorologist Simon Legault explains.
When a tornado warning is in effect, Environment Canada recommends going indoors to the room on the lowest level, away from windows and exterior walls.
If you are in a vehicle, RV, tent, trailer, or other temporary shelter, it is recommended that you take shelter in a sturdy building.
As a last resort, lie on the ground in a low spot and protect your head from thrown objects, we can read on Environment Canada’s website.
It is a dangerous situation that could lead to fatal injuries, the federal authority said.
In Montreal, authorities advise that in the event of an emergency affecting the health or safety of anyone, citizens must dial 911 for assistance.
In the event of flooding or infrastructure-related situations, citizens can dial 311.
With information from CBC