Ice storm leaves over 300,000 Canadians without power across Ontario

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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