The Fatal Storm That Ripped Through Ontario & Quebec Has Caused Damage 'Beyond Comprehension'

The effects of the violent storm that made its way through Ontario and Quebec on Saturday, May 21 are still being felt.

According to a tweet from Hydro Ottawa on May 22, restoring power to the city is going to be a "multi-day restoration effort" due to downed trees, poles and wires.

Two days after the initial damage from the storm, they shared just how dire things still are in the city.

"The level of damage to our distribution system is simply beyond comprehension," they noted. "We're managing this from a whole of city perspective given that no single area of the City is unaffected in some manner."

They also shared that reinforcement crews are coming from the Greater Toronto Area, Kingston and even New Brunswick.

According to CBC, at least eight people were killed in the storm. At least five of the fatalities occurred in Ontario and were due to being struck by a falling tree.

The Weather Network says that the storm is part of an event called a derecho, which is "a group of thunderstorms that produces a swath of downburst winds that cause intermittent damage along a path over 600 km long and 100 km wide."

It was apparently set off by a cold front sweeping in that sliced through the heat and humidity that the region was facing, which resulted in torrential rainfall, hail, frequent lightning and widespread, damaging wind gusts.

The strength of the storm's wind gusts broke records.

"Pearson International Airport saw its strongest May wind gust on record after hitting 120 km/h Saturday," said TWN. "It was its fifth strongest wind gust on record. It toppled its previous monthly record of 119 km/h that was documented on May 4, 2018."

They also note that thousands of people remain without power as of the morning of May 23.