A massive ice storm that rained down 40 millimetres of rain and 15 millimetres of ice rain has struck southwestern Québec, and has left approximately 1.1 million people without power, largely in the Montréal area.
Hydro-Québec has deployed over 1,100 workers in an attempt to restore power as quickly as possible, however progress may be slow as the storm is ongoing in some areas. Most of the power outages have been caused by trees or tree branches snapping under the weight of the ice and falling onto power lines. Over 300 trees fell in Montréal alone.
Hydro-Québec has stated they hope to restore power two about a third of those affected by the end of Thursday night, some may not see power restored until the weekend.
Québec Premier Francois Legault is set to visit Montréal today, who’s streets are lined with debris.
A number of schools in the Montréal area have cancelled school because of the storm.
