The Gatineau City Police Service (SPVG) has confirmed that a person has lost his life in the Ottawa River, in the Masson-Angers sector, after capsizing his boat.
Police received the call shortly before 5 pm Two people were on board at the time of the accident. The victim is a 51-year-old woman. The emergency services carried out resuscitation maneuvers, but the victim’s death was confirmed at the hospital.
the SPVG conducts an investigation to better understand the circumstances of the accident.
In Ottawa, one person has died in the west end of the city, Ottawa police confirmed at a news conference Saturday night. The coroner attended. No further details will be released until the family of the deceased is notified.
Ottawa Paramedic Service Chief Pierre Poirier also confirmed that two other people were seriously injured at two different golf courses, including one person who was trapped under a tree. A car accident also caused serious injuries.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) confirmed tonight that a 44-year-old man lost his life in Renfrew County after being hit by a falling tree. An investigation is ongoing.
Sunday, the POP reported the death of a fourth victim, a woman in her 80s, Gail Greene, who died the day after the storm hit a tree near the town of Lanark.
Several electrical cables fell during the passage of the storm in Ottawa
Photo: Hydro Ottawa
A breakdown that could last several days
While hundreds of thousands of subscribers were still without power Saturday night, Ottawa officials said the situation could take a few days to resolve in some areas.
It is more than likely that we are facing a multi-day event
said Joseph Muglia, Director of Distribution Operations for Hydro Ottawa.
He assured that crews would work around the clock to assess the damage and restore power.
As of around 9:30 p.m., many areas on both the Quebec and Ontario sides were still without power. According to Hydro-Québec, more than 116,000 users in the Outaouais were still in the dark. Hydro Ottawa indicates for its part that about 180,000 subscribers did not have electricity at the end of the day. Similar scenario for nearly 90,000 residences connected to Hydro One in Eastern Ontario.
A tree fell on a residence in Ottawa’s Overbrook neighborhood during a thunderstorm Saturday.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Melanye Boissonnault
busy emergency services
Ottawa firefighters tweeted that they are receiving numerous calls reporting traffic accidents, wildfires and damaged building structures.
The Ottawa Fire Department has confirmed that roofs have been blown off houses in Stittsville. Firefighters also say severe thunderstorms hit several areas west of Ottawa and east of the city.
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) also received numerous calls. On his Twitter account, operations reported “some injuries” reported.
In fact, the Ottawa Paramedic Service has asked residents to contact 911 for emergencies only and to yield the right of way to emergency vehicles.
Stittsville residents survey damage after the storm.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Ismaël Sy
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said Saturday that he was in contact with the city’s emergency services to ensure resources are available to fight possible fires in the territory.
Frontline crews have been deployed to restore power and clear streets in Ottawa. Emergency services are also asking residents to avoid getting close to power lines on the ground.
Ottawa Light Rail Line 1 service was interrupted Saturday due to a power outage.
Thunderstorms also hit eastern Ontario. The City of Clarence-Rockland has declared a state of emergency. The Clarence Creek arena is open for people in need of temporary shelter, the township said.
Damage in Outaouais
In Outaouais, the storm also left its mark on several municipalities. In the Hull sector of Gatineau, witnesses said that the roof and siding of some houses were damaged and that many trees collapsed to the ground.
In Fassett Township, it was the town church that suffered the most damage.
St. Faithful Church in Fassett was damaged by severe thunderstorms on Saturday.
Photo: Chantale Lauzon (Facebook)
The Ville de Gatineau firefighters quickly controlled a residential fire caused by lightning in the Aylmer sector. Firefighters say they received about 150 more calls than usual for a Saturday, but reported no serious injuries during their many operations.
With the arrival of the storm, we saw a really high volume of calls. […] We had a lot of downed wires, downed branches, downed trees. But he was relatively calm in terms of injuries. There was nothing important except the event on the river.
Stéphane Denis, chief of the intervention division of the Gatineau City Fire Department, commented in the evening.
Gatineau City Council has confirmed that it has not decreed emergency measures.
Gusts of 120 km / h recorded in Ottawa
Environment Canada explained that conditions were conducive to the development of strong thunderstorms that can produce strong gusts
.
Gusts of 120 km/h were recorded at Ottawa International Airport and winds of 89 km/h at Gatineau according to Environment Canada.
We saw gusts up to 80 mph further west at Waterloo, so it was the same line of storms that hit the Ottawa area.
Gerald Cheng, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, explained.
Early Saturday, Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch targeting areas of Haute-Gatineau, Papineau, Gatineau, Ottawa and eastern Ontario, among others. Environment Canada had reported a risk of tornadoes in some areas, as well as a risk of hail.
With information from Rebecca Kwan, Frédéric Pepin and Samuel Blais Gauthier
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