Over 300,000 Canadians were left without power on Sunday as a severe ice storm battered parts of Ontario, according to electricity provider Hydro One. The storm brought freezing rain and ice pellets over the weekend, with power outages continuing into Monday morning in some regions.
Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for freezing rain across Ottawa, parts of Quebec, and Ontario. The agency warned of snow mixed with or transitioning to ice pellets, with some areas also facing flooding risks, particularly in central Ontario.
“Outages are largely being caused by tree limbs and branches being weighed down from the accumulation of freezing rain,” Hydro One stated on its website. More than 350,000 customers were affected as of Sunday afternoon, with power expected to be restored by April 1.
Alectra, another utilities provider, reported around 35,000 customers without power, primarily in Barrie, a town north of Toronto. “Progress has been slow due to the ice on the lines, but all available resources have been deployed,” the company said.
The city of Orillia declared a state of emergency due to the storm, citing widespread power outages, hazardous road conditions, downed trees and hydro lines, and damage to public and private infrastructure.
“This is a very serious situation with hazardous road conditions, downed trees and hydro lines, and damage to public and private infrastructure,” the city said on its website.
Residents across Ontario shared reports on social media of road closures due to uprooted trees and crashing branches throughout the storm.
The severe weather event comes amid broader concerns about climate resilience and infrastructure vulnerabilities across Canada.
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Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six World Central Kitchen colleagues killed in Gaza in April 2024.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
North Korea has fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles after U.S. President Donald Trump reduced American participation in joint military exercises with South Korea in an effort to revive dialogue with Pyongyang.
Georgia’s foreign trade data for January-July 2026 shows Kyrgyzstan, China and Russia as its top three export markets, highlighting its Middle Corridor ambitions and complex economic ties with Moscow.
Kazakhstan will vote on 23 August in its first parliamentary election under the new Constitution, choosing 145 members of the new Kurultai under a fundamentally changed electoral system based entirely on party lists.
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