Wednesday’s ice storm affected a large part of Quebec, as roads became slick and freezing rain caused trees to tumble, forcing people across the province to take shelter indoors.
And as of Thursday at 7:30 am, just over 1.1 million Hydro-Quebec customers are still without power. Almost half (483,927) of those residents are in Montreal.
Over the past 24 hours, many Quebecers have shared photos of the storm’s impact.
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Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon and Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel called the power outages a “crisis” but claimed things are “under control.” Over one-third of those without power can expect to get it back over the next day.
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On January 5, 1998, Quebec was hit with an ice storm that would become one of Canadian history’s most significant natural disasters. For the better part of a week, parts of Quebec had accumulated 100 mm of freezing rain, which resulted in 600,000 people being forced to evacuate their homes while 1,393,000 citizens lost power.
That ice storm cost an estimated $5.4 billion in utility repairs, insurance claims, and productivity loss across Quebec.
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