Weather: Severe weather in Canada: five dead and hundreds of thousands without power

weather
Storms in Canada: five dead and hundreds of thousands without power

A local resident climbs over a tree that has been downed and uprooted by a severe storm. Photo: Justin Tang/The Canadian Press/AP/dpa

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Storms and thunderstorms have wreaked havoc across parts of Canada. At least five people died. There is no electricity in more than 600,000 households.

At least five people died in several violent storms and thunderstorms in Canada over the weekend.

The storm wreaked havoc across the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, cutting off power to nearly a million homes, according to Canada’s Environment Ministry.

Wind speeds of 130 kilometers per hour were measured in the cities of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Such strong storms are considered rare in this region – the most populous in the country.

According to consistent media reports, four people were killed by falling trees. A woman also died when her boat capsized on a tributary of the Saint Lawrence River.

According to the PowerOutage website, around 925,000 households in Ontario and Quebec were without power on Saturday evening (local time) – a high number for Canada, a country with 38 million inhabitants.

As of Sunday afternoon, more than 600,000 homes were still without electricity. The electricity provider Hydro One wrote on Twitter that it would take several days before the supply could be restored.

dpa

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