Six dead, thousands of people without power after thunderstorms hit southern Ontario

As many as six people are dead and tens of thousands were left without power following a fierce storm that left a trail of wind and rain damage across Toronto, the GTA and most of southern Ontario.

Watches and warnings were posted by Environment Canada around the noon hour Saturday for much of the southern portion of the province, warning of wind gusts approaching 130 km/h in some areas along with nickel sized hail.

The national weather service also sent an alert to cellphones in the GTA just before 1 p.m. warning of the imminent weather threat.

“This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation,” said Environment Canada. “Widespread and extremely strong wind gusts can destroy buildings with tornado-like damage, flatten large stands of trees and blow vehicles off the road.”

Peel police say a woman in her 70s was killed when a large tree fell and struck her as she was out walking through a catwalk in the area of Belmont Drive and Birchbank Road in Brampton. She was taken to hospital where she later died of her injuries.

Ontario Provincial Police said a 44-year-old man was killed in Greater Madawaska, west of Ottawa, after reportedly being struck by a falling tree, while police in Ottawa said a 59-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on him at a golf course in the west end of the city.

Provincial Police West Region also reported one person died and two others were hurt after a tree fell on a camping trailer at Pinehurst Lake.

On Sunday, Northumberland OPP confirmed a 74-year-old woman from Port Hope was killed when a tree fell on her while Peterborough County OPP said a 64-year-old Cornwall woman was killed when a tree fell on her at a home in North Kawartha Township.

Early Saturday evening Premier Doug Ford extended his condolences to the families and friends of those killed, writing, “I am very sad to learn about the tragic deaths of two people in Ontario as a result of the severe weather today. My thoughts go out to both of their families & friends and I offer condolences on behalf of all Ontarians.”

The town of Uxbridge declared a state of emergency after the major storm. Mayor Dave Barton asked people in a statement to stay off the streets while all the damage is assessed.

Tens of thousands of Ontarians found themselves without power, according to utility Hydro One, whose outage map showed almost 2,000 outages leaving more than 343,000 people in the dark at the height of the storm. Toronto Hydro reported multiple power outages throughout the city, tweeting out about extensive damage to equipment and warning that individual estimated times of restoration were difficult to determine.

Alectra said crews were working to restore power for more than 100,000 homes and businesses in York Region, Peel, Region, Hamilton and Guelph. It said hurricane force winds broke many poles across service areas and there’s many downed lines because of fallen tree limbs.

“Those who are still without power are encouraged to remain patient and to check on relatives and neighbours who may require assistance,” Alectra said online.

Joseph Muglia, director of Hydro Ottawa, said more than half their customers across the city lost power.

Kim Ayotte, general manager of Ottawa’s Emergency and Protective Services, said he expects clean up from the storm to take several days.

“We must all be patient,” he said at a news conference Saturday. “Crews are working as fast as they can and as safely as they can.”

Images posted to social media from across the province showed debris-strewn streets and toppled trees that occasionally damaged homes and cars.

Steve Faulkner, the operation manager at the airport in London, Ont., said a small aircraft flipped over during the storm.

“There was a parked aircraft that was tied down and secured and the winds basically were strong enough that they broke the straps and the airplane flipped over,” he said.

“We’re cleaning it up now. The airplane has been removed.”

Toronto Fire said it had received several hundred calls related to the severe weather and power outages across the city, forcing them to implement its severe weather protocol.

“Many power lines are down as a result – please stay a safe distance from any downed wires and treat them as ‘live’,” they tweeted.

Toronto police said they received more than 360 weather-related calls within a two hour period with at least 10 collision-related incidents. They were forced to temporarily shut down their non-emergency lines for a period of time.

I was just about to leave for the Blue Jays game when a crazy storm came through. As I was waiting at the doorway for rain to pass I watched a 70-foot tree fall on the car I was about to drive.

My wife, baby, brother and two nephews were in the car.

I can’t explain the feeling. pic.twitter.com/1of0IEnYEN

— Mark Sheldon (@markdsheldon) May 21, 2022

Mark Sheldon said he was just about to leave for the Blue Jays game when the storm hit.

“As I was waiting at the doorway for rain to pass I watched a 70-foot tree fall on the car I was about to drive,” he tweeted, noting that his family was inside the vehicle at the time. “There was a bit of blood but everyone is safe and doing alright! My kid was in the front seat playing with my brother. Legitimately terrifying.”

Wrong place at the wrong time for this driver. So many trees down around High Park with power out on Parkside. #ONstorm @CityNewsTO pic.twitter.com/EFe4bqg1Bp

— Michelle Mackey (@michellemackey) May 21, 2022

A massive burst of wind and rain around noon in Cambridge hit a roughly 200 metre swath in the Hespeler neighbourhood the hardest. Trees and limbs down; these residents at Queen and Bechtel describe buried vehicles and how fast it all hit. #onstorm @CityNewsKIT @CityNewsTO pic.twitter.com/wwgGNOq6dC

— Mark Douglas (@DouglasCityNews) May 21, 2022

The storm eventually made its way to Quebec, where it also left thousands of residents without power.

Gatineau police said a 51-year-old woman died when the boat she was in capsized in the Ottawa River near Masson-Angers, Que.

Earlier Saturday, tornado warnings were issued for several regions in southern and central Quebec.

— With files from The Canadian Press