‘Destructive’ wind storm rips through Chatham-Kent

Environment Canada officials say wind gusts reaching 100 km/h were recorded at the Chatham-Kent Airport on Sunday, November 15, 2020.

“A powerful fall storm tracked through Ontario Sunday and Sunday night, bringing widespread destructive winds and severe thunderstorms to southern Ontario,” Environment Canada officials said on Monday morning in a report at 6:33 a.m.

“Widespread damage from these thunderstorms has been reported across southwestern and south-central Ontario, including snapped utility poles, downed trees, and roof damage.”

Environment Canada officials added: “Between the thunderstorms and synoptic winds, well over 200,000 customers lost power on Sunday across the province.”

Chatham-Kent Police Service officials say officers were kept busy during Sunday’s storm.

“Yesterday, the Chatham-Kent Police were kept extremely busy responding to collisions and dangerous conditions… flooding, downed trees and hydro wires etc., due to the wind storm,” police officials said in a media release.

“We would like to thank everyone for their patience and co-operation yesterday, along with our community partners for their collaboration and teamwork.”

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent also released some information about who to call in a storm emergency.

“Please follow these procedures regarding power outages or downed utility lines or trees,” Municipal officials said in a media release on Monday, November 16, 2020.

“If you are an Entegrus customer in Chatham-Kent, report a power outage by calling 1-866-804-7325 at any time. Additional information can be found at https://www.entegrus.com/outages.”

Municipal officials added: “If you are a Hydro One customer without power call the 24/7 outage hotline at 1-800-434-1235 or report an outage online. You can also find information at https://www.hydroone.com/power-outages-and-safety.”

Municipal officials say if people are aware of downed trees that are blocking roads or sidewalks, call the Municipality at 311 at any time.

“Residents may also contact the municipality by sending an email to ckinfo@chatham-kent.ca,” Municipal officials say.

“If there is an immediate threat to public safety call 911. If any individuals require emergency accommodations due to storm damage to their home, they can call 519-354-6628 for shelter assistance.”

Entegrus officials say they were still dealing with the wind storms aftermath on Monday.

“Crews are continuing to clean up and restore localized power outages resulting from yesterday’s winds,” Entegrus officials posted on their website.

“We appreciate your patience while crews work to safely restore power.”

As of Monday afternoon, Hydro One was still dealing with multiple outages across the Province:

Hydro One

A flood watch remains in place by the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority and a flood warning remains active by the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority.

Here is our coverage from Sunday: Downed trees & wires, power outages across C-K

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