As of 11:00 p.m. Sunday, Hydro Ottawa is reporting more than 33,000 customers still without power. They say the areas experiencing the worst outages still are the Knoxdale-Merivale and College wards. Power has been restored to the entire Barrhaven area. Hydro Quebec says 3,243 customers without power across the Outaouais region.
As power beings to come back on, Hydro Ottawa is asking residents to conserve energy however possible, by unplugging or turning off unnecessary devices and electronics to prevent new issues from impacting the power grid.
There are still more than 300 traffic lights without power throughout the capital. As a result, there are a number of closures and schedule changes to be aware of.
Ottawa Police and City of Ottawa officials are urging anyone who can stay home from work today to do so, in order to prevent traffic mishaps due to the malfunctioning traffic lights.
In the same vein, the Government of Canada is urging all of its employees to stay home from work Monday, and to work from home if possible. There are some government buildings that will be entirely closed, including the C.D. Howe building at 235 Queen Street and Measurement Canada building at Tunney’s Pasture will be closed September 24. Additionally, Statistics Canada says its offices in Ottawa and Gatineau will be closed Monday, and Public Services and Procurement Canada says its buildings at Tunney’s Pasture, 2745 Iris St., 1550 Carling Ave. and Plouffe Park at 1010 Somerset Street are closed as well.
A number of schools are closed in the capital on Monday.
All English public and Catholic schools in Ottawa will be closed Monday due to tornado damage. Both school boards made the decision due to the extensive power outages and damage to several areas of the city. Several schools remain without power, and others need repair work. After-school programs and community use of schools are also cancelled. It's anticipated most schools will re-open on Tuesday.
Other English schools closed Monday:
The French public board says all schools are open, except for Omer Deslaurier and Charlotte Lemieux. The French Catholic school board says six of its schools will be closed Monday. Those closed schools include:
For post-secondary students, Algonquin College, the University of Ottawa, and Carleton University are all open as usual on Monday. Carleton University says its showers at athletics facilities and laundry services in residence buildings are open to all students who need them.
Certain City of Ottawa services will be impacted Monday due to the power outages. Garbage, recycling and green bin collection will follow its regular schedule and is not affected by changes. They say if you have damaged appliances, furniture and electronics, do not dispose of them. Do not touch or move hazardous waste, such as propane tanks, paint, gas and oil. Contact your insurance company for direction on how to proceed when dealing with damaged goods. The City says there are no garbage exceptions for construction or demolition waste, or tree branches, all of which must be properly packaged. See the City's update for exact measurements of twigs and tree branches that can be picked up.
The City says it has established a Vulnerable Persons Taskforce, performing outreach efforts to the vulnerable population, including stationing of OC Transpo buses to provide water, food and support at three buildings predominantly occupied by seniors.
Wellness checks are also being performed by the Ottawa Search and Rescue volunteer group. In addition, Ottawa Public Health has been checking in on Long Term Care Homes and retirement homes to ensure they are operational. The City says residents who have been affected by the power outage who are in need of food, water and shelter can call 3-1-1 and select option 4.
The City says Ben Franklin Place at 101 Centrepointe Drive and Mary Pitt Centre at 100 Constellation Drive will be closed Monday, but all other Client Service Centres are open
OC Transpo services are running in their entirety, but officials are warning of delays due to issues with traffic lights.
Museums open and closed Monday:
Finally, all malls will be open in Ottawa on Monday.
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As of 5:00 a.m. Sunday, Hydro Ottawa is reporting 88,000 customers are still without power, down from the last report of 97,000 people still in the dark last night.
They say some of the worst-hit areas are in Ottawa's west end, including Barrhaven, Nepean, Lincoln Heights, Richmond, and Manordale.
Hydro Ottawa says to report a power outage,you can call their 24/7 outage line at 613-738-0188.
The City of Ottawa is advising those without power to ensure they have a three-day supply of food and water to get through the outages.
Shelters currently open:
Residents can access power and services (including showers) at all open City facilities:
Hours of operation vary for other City facilities:
Goodlife Fitness locations across the capital are open to the public Sunday, offering their change room facilities to anyone who needs a hot shower, or power.
The Otatwa 67s are opening up their doors Sunday for free to the public, asking instead for donations of food and clothes for tornado victims. Tickets need to be reserved online, or at the box office by noon Sunday. Tickets include transporation from OC Transpo to and from the game.
The Canada Army Run will go ahead as scheduled, and City Hall facilities are open to the public as a result.
Recovery efforts:
Several Ottawa residents have expressed a desire to volunteer to help clear debris in the hardest-hit areas. However, Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau is urging would-be volunteers to stay away from areas with severe storm damage, as they are still not safe. Police will continue to work alongside first responder crews to help with the effort to restore power, and keep the peace during the outage.
Instead, anyone wishing to help is urged to donate financially to the Canadian Red Cross, which is working to coordinate emergency relief efforts and get help to people in affected areas as quickly as possible. Money raised will be used to respond to the immediate and/or emerging needs in and around the affected areas.
You can make a financial donation to the Ottawa-Gatineau Tornado Appeal – Ottawa Area or the Ottawa-Gatineau Tornado Appeal – Gatineau Area by calling 1-800-418-1111 or by contacting your local Canadian Red Cross office.
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As of Saturday, many residents in parts of eastern Ontario and western Quebec are waking up without power that could last for days. Mayor Jim Watson held a news conference on Saturday morning regarding Friday's tornado and wind storm. CEO Bryce Conrad says Friday's tornado and wind storm may be worse than the ice storm of 1998. The Hydro One station on Merivale Road near Island Park Drive, suffered extensive damage, losing 400 megawatts during the storm. If you have power right now, you will not lose it.
Bryce Conrad, CEO Hydro Ottawa says there has been damage to about 80 to 90 poles, so bad Hydro One says they can't quite assess the damage yet. Conrad says the key to restoring power to 147,000 customers across Ottawa is fixing this hydro station in Ottawa.
The hardest hit areas from Friday's storm are Dunrobin, Craig Henry, Arlington Woods, the Hunt Club-Riversode area and the Paul Anka-McCarthy area. Yet officials say there is no need to stockpile and no need to rush out to buy food and resources.
At this time, the Ottawa Hospital says 5 patients have been treated for injuries related to Friday night's storm. Two of them are in critical condition, one in serious and another two are stable.
Ottawa Police Chief, Charles Bordeleau urges people not to call 911 unless it's a real emergency. He also requests the public stays away from the affected zones and not there to take pictures or more. Bordeleau confirms there has been no civil unrest and no looting at this time.
The City of Ottawa says the east-end of Ottawa is operational.
You are urged to use caution with your candles, already there have been fires due to candles since the power outage on Friday.
As well, the Ottawa REDBLACKS game will go on as scheduled against the Edmonton Eskimos at 4pm.
The Ottawa Airport's power has been restored as of late Saturday morning, OC Transpo is still operating as per usual.
Most shopping centres like Bayshore remains open, The Real Canadian Super Store on Richmond Rd in Westboro is open and operating on a generator. The ByWard Market remains open as well.