As the number of power outages in Quebec rose to 540,538 by nearly midnight on Friday evening, more than 378,000 households have been reconnected. At the time of writing, around 8:15 am on Saturday, August 10th, there are still 161,598 households affected. The main causes of these power outages are strong gusts of wind and flooding. Over 150 mm of rain fell in the Greater Montreal area. Hydro-Québec assures Quebecers that they are doing their best, with around a hundred teams currently in the field.
“Several outages were due to flooding in some of our transport stations. We currently have over 100 teams in the field, taking over this morning from the hundred teams who were working overnight. The movement of teams to more affected regions is underway, and we are calling on external contractors to assist us,” explained Hydro-Québec. While Montérégie was the most affected region on Friday night, it is now the Estrie region that is at the forefront with approximately 27% of its customers (53,146 out of 193,960) without electricity. Laval is also among the significantly affected regions, with around 25% of households affected, totaling 51,469 customers out of 201,471.
Montreal, on the other hand, is in a much better situation. While 168,583 customers were in the dark on Friday night, the number has decreased to 11,560 affected households this morning. In addition to the thousands of power outages, Storm Debby has caused numerous floods, sewer backups, and even road collapses.
Furthermore, due to a decrease in pressure caused by an electrical outage, the City of Longueuil has issued a boil water advisory for the cities of Boucherville, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, the Saint-Hubert borough, and part of the Vieux-Longueuil borough this Saturday. This is a problematic situation for households without both drinkable water and electricity at the same time. Residents in the affected areas are advised to boil water for at least one minute before consumption until further notice, and for a minimum of 24 hours.
Hydro-Québec also reminds people to stay away from fallen power lines or objects in contact with the electrical network in case of floods, equipment breakages, or incidents. They advise calling 911 to secure the area and provide safety tips for dealing with flooding and power issues.
To stay updated on the situation, residents are encouraged to check the outage information by region and stay informed on social media platforms. Stay safe and follow the guidelines provided by local authorities and Hydro-Québec during this challenging time.