Another intense summer storm moved through Ottawa Wednesday night, cutting power to thousands of homes, flooding roads and bringing down trees.
Environment Canada says 21.9 millimetres of rain was recorded at the Ottawa airport on Wednesday, bringing August’s rainfall total to 104.8 mm so far. The monthly average rainfall for August is around 79 mm, according to Environment Canada data.
Maximum wind gusts of 107 km/h were also recorded on Wednesday. By comparison, the maximum wind gusts on Canada Day were 71 km/h.
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As of 10 a.m., Hydro Ottawa was reporting around 6,700 customers without power, mostly in Knoxdale-Merivale, College, and Bay wards, which were among the hardest hit during the July 1 storm.
‘We have to stop acting surprised’
Knoxdale-Merivale Ward Coun. Sean Devine noted that his area of the city has faced the brunt of the storms this summer.
“Clearly, Mother Nature or some other authority has an issue with Ward 8 and Ward 9. What more should the storm-beaten, electricity-deprived residents of Knoxdale-Merivale Ward and College Ward be expected to put up with?” Devine said in a Facebook post overnight.
Devine posted several photos of downed trees, ponding, and damaged hydro infrastructure in his ward on social media and said he’s received at least one report of basement flooding.
“If so, that’s the third instance of rain-related flooding since July 1,” he said.
Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa At Work with Patricia Boal, Devine said the City of Ottawa needs to be prepared for more storms like this.
“We have to stop acting surprised that this is happening because the city’s environmental experts have been telling us since the term of council began that we can and should expect more frequent storms and more severe storms, and that’s exactly what’s happening,” he said.
“We can’t prevent the amount of rain from coming down, but what we can try to do over time is prevent the damage that it causes… Unfortunately, and sadly, this is stuff that we could have been implementing years ago. It’s not like we didn’t have foresight.”
He also said this is the third time some residents in his ward have experienced flooding this summer.
“I have residents who I think are experiencing PTSD. Try to imagine that you have just barely recovered from the Canada Day flooding, and then on August 10th, so Monday, it happened again, and then on August 12th, last night, it happened again. So, this is traumatic for many people,” he said.
Hydro crews working through night
Hydro Ottawa says crews worked through the night to restore power following the storm.
“While steady progress has been made, there are still some damaged areas with heavy vegetation and limited access,” Hydro Ottawa said on its website.
“Because these areas are difficult to access, it is not possible to provide a full assessment of the infrastructure damage. It is important to remember that Estimated Times of Restoration (ETRs) are estimates that may change as crews gain access to sites to complete their damage assessments.”
Hydro Quebec was reporting around 6,900 customers in the Outaouais region without power as of 10 a.m. Thursday.
Around 6,000 of those customers were in the Aylmer sector of Gatineau.
Anyone experiencing basement flooding is asked to report it to the City of Ottawa.
Wettest summer on record
The storm follows another storm on Monday that brought 23.5 mm of rain and more reports of flooded basements.
More than 6,000 residents reported basement flooding following the storm on July 1. Councillors in affected areas have reported additional flooding after the rain on Monday and Wednesday.
The storm adds to Ottawa’s record-breaking wet summer. A total of 510.1 millimetres of rain was recorded at the Ottawa Airport between June 1 and Aug. 12, breaking the previous record for the June, July and August period of 464 millimetres set in 1972.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.
