Ottawa storm winds reached 190 km/h: researchers
Winds in the destructive storm that hit Ottawa and the region on Saturday reached 190 kilometres per hour in some areas, researchers say, but a tornado did not touch down.
"Analysis of the data reveals that a particularly intense downburst, not a tornado, was responsible for the damage" in south Ottawa, the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University said on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Maximum wind speeds reached 190 kilometres per hour, the researchers said. They measured the storm, known as a 'derecho,' as as EF-2. The EF-scale measures the intensity of wind damage on a scale from 0 to 5.
Local officials are scheduled to provide an update on recovery efforts at 4 p.m. Wednesday. You can watch it live on this page.
Overnight and through the morning Wednesday, Hydro Ottawa crews reconnected 15,000 more customers with the power grid, leaving 55,000 still without power as of 1 p.m.
Electricity has been restored for about 125,000 customers.
"Some of those larger pole lines that you see on Woodroffe, on Merivale, we're hitting those hard today," Joseph Muglia, Hydro Ottawa's director of system operations, told CTV Morning Live. "Once we can get those pole lines back up, we'll see large numbers of customers brought on at once."
Muglia said additional hydro crews are arriving from Toronto on Wednesday to help.
"We’re still aiming for the end of this week to have the bulk of the customers online and back with power," he said. "That’s still the trajectory and that’s what we’re aiming for."
Hydro Ottawa has taken its outage map offline, saying it doesn't reflect the current situation due to the complexity of the overlapping outages.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson said Wednesday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford assured him the province would cover the cost of the storm cleanup, which is expected to run into the millions of dollars.
Hydro One was reporting more than 29,000 customers in eastern Ontario still without power Wednesday morning, down from 49,000 Tuesday afternoon. Hydro Quebec said there were still 15,500 customers in the Outaouais region to be connected, down from 21,000 on Tuesday.
About 40 roads are still impassable due to downed trees and hydro lines, Public Works General Manager Alain Gonthier told reporters Tuesday afternoon. Residents are still being asked to stay off the roads if they can.
Some city respite centres are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. again Wednesday for people who need electricity, water, food and shelter. You can see a full list here. There are also disposal bins set up at several locations for spoiled food, and the city is conducting a green bin blitz to collect food waste.
Many city services were closed on Tuesday but reopened on Wednesday.
English public and Catholic schools in Ottawa that have power are reopening Wednesday. There are more than 60 schools in the city that still don't have power and they will remain closed.
Two schools were damaged by the storm and will be closed for an extended period of time. French boards plan to open schools that have power.
At least 10 people across Ontario and Quebec were killed in the storm, including three in the Ottawa area.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Testifying in hush money trial, adult film actor Stormy Daniels describes first meeting Trump
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential election 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
Katy Perry's mom was fooled by AI images of the singer at the Met Gala
Katy Perry did not attend the Met Gala on Monday, but some of the singer’s fans – and even her mom – thought she did.