IN PICS | Canada: Two killed, millions without power after ice storm

At least two people have died and millions of others have been left without power after an ice storm that battered eastern Canada as fallen trees blocked roads and downed power lines, as per media reports, on Thursday and Friday. The storm has affected the country's two most-populated provinces Quebec and Ontario ahead of a holiday weekend. 

According to Poweroutage.com just under a million people did not have power in Quebec and as of 4:00 pm (local time) about 110,000 in Ontario. While the power outages for both provinces had crossed at least 1.3 million earlier in the day, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, electricity companies in both provinces have said that they are working to restore power but the work will continue for at least a few days which means several Canadians will be forced to spend Easter weekend in the dark.

Meanwhile, Regis Tellier, Hydro-Quebec's vice president of operations and maintenance, in a televised briefing, said that the company was hoping to restore power for about 70 per cent of customers by Friday midnight. 

"Unfortunately, it is the start of a long weekend and certain areas are more complex that we will not be able to reconnect immediately," said Tellier. 

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Ottawa, Mark Sutcliffe, said crews were expected to restore power for a large portion of some 65,000 affected customers by noon. 

One man was killed in Quebec when a tree fell on him, said Premier of Quebec Francois Legault, in a briefing, as per Reuters. Meanwhile, an Ontario resident was killed after being struck by a falling branch, reported the local media. 

 

In light in of the two deaths, officials have called for caution and asked people to stay away from downed power lines and avoid walking in wooded areas where trees laden with ice might topple, reported AFP. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was elected to parliament in a Montreal constituency said, "It's a very difficult moment ... the power being down for so many folks, the trees coming down, hurting buildings and cars and whatnot, is of course an ongoing concern," as per Reuters. 

He added, "Seeing all these beautiful trees down, seeing lives disrupted, seeing similar challenges...(it) will be a difficult Easter weekend for a number of families."

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Ottawa Mark Sutcliffe, said some parts of the national capital "remain hazardous due to fallen debris and power outages affecting traffic signals." 

According to media reports, electricity outages have mainly been attributed to trees snapping after becoming heavy with ice and damaged power lines. As of Thursday evening, road crews were still working to to clear streets of debris in the affected areas.

As of early afternoon, two of Montreal's main bridges remained partially closed while the city became a virtual ice garden when the storm hit late Wednesday which covered traffic lights, bicycles, vehicles, and anything else outdoors with a thick layer of ice, as per media reports. 

"Of the last 20 years, this is the worst ice storm we've had," told Montreal resident who lives in the central Plateau district of the city, retiree Jean-Marc Grondin to AFP.