More than 400,000 Quebec homes still without power after violent storm

Hydro-Québec says more than 350 teams had been mobilized to restore power.

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More than 400,000 Hydro-Québec customers were still without power Sunday morning after violent storms hit the province on Saturday evening.

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Strong winds were recorded in a number of locations, notably on Lake Memphrémagog where gusts reached 151 km/h. Winds of 96 and 90 km/h were recorded in Trois-Rivières and Gatineau, respectively.

At the worst point on Saturday night, Hydro-Québec indicated that 550,000 of its customers were without power.

Of the many regions affected by Saturday’s storms, the Laurentians fared worst with nearly 155,000 Hydro customers still in the dark Sunday morning. Nearly 100,000 customers in Lanaudière remain without power as are 96,000 in the Outaouais.

Hydro-Québec said Sunday morning that efforts to restore power had progressed overnight and that more than 350 teams had been mobilized.

Montreal was largely spared by the storms, which moved from Ontario all the way to the Quebec City region Saturday afternoon. The Chaudière-Appalaches and Estrie regions were hit by another storm cell early Sunday.

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A number of municipalities reported failed trees and damages.

Val-Morin has asked its residents to reduce their consumption of drinking water to the bare minimum.

“Due to the power outage,” the municipality wrote on its Facebook page, “the water supply produced by our pumping stations has slowed down.”

Two schools were damaged in Lanaudière, according to a statement published by the Center de services scolaire des Samares, which says it’s working with experts to evaluate the situation and “organize a safe return to class.”

In the Outaouais, a number of residents posted photos of the collapsed bell tower of the Saint-Fidèle de Fassett church on social media.