Over one million without power in Canada's Quebec due to freezing rain

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

Toronto, CANADA (AA) - As of early Thursday, over one million people in Quebec were without power due to freezing rain and storms in Canada.

Hydro-Quebec, which provides energy utility services, has yet to provide a timeline for power restoration. Falling branches from frozen trees collapsing on electrical wires mainly caused the power outages.

On Wednesday, the weather forecast called for 20 millimeters of ice to fall on Montreal area and the Outaouias region.

In addition, school boards issued urgent messages to students and staff on late Wednesday, informing them of the closure of schools, daycares, elementary, and select administrative buildings.

911 received a high volume of calls about weather-related difficulties.

"We are confident that we can restore power to some of the affected customers today. Unfortunately, it is already expected that some customers will still be without power on Friday and this weekend. Our teams will remain on the ground until every single client's service has been brought back," said Hydro-Quebec on Twitter.

Environment Canada issued freezing rain alerts for several regions of Canada Wednesday.

Montreal, Laval, the Laurentians, the Outaouais, and parts of the Monteregie were to be the hardest hit areas, with 10 to 20 millimeters of icefall expected.

"Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and hazardous," the warning read.