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
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.