One of the many electricity pylons that once carried power to the City of Montréal and surrounding area. Large numbers of pylons and transmission lines were brought down by the weight of ice during the several days of freezing precipitation in the first and second weeks of January 1998. The three poles to the right support the temporary lines that were hurriedly installed to restore power to the affected areas.
Thus read the front page headline of The Gazette of Montréal on Wednesday 7 January 1998, the day I arrived in the city.
Grappling with the worst ice storm to hit the region in nearly four decades, the report by Jonathon Gatehouse continued, and with more freezing rain in the forecast, Hydro-Québec warned yesterday that blackouts won't end quickly.
Mr Flanagan could not be accused of exaggeration, because it was Sunday 7 February, 31 days later, that power was restored to the last of those who lost their electricity during the storm. During that period 1,300,000 clients of Hydro-Québec, representing several million people, were without electricity; all bridges over the St Laurent were closed to traffic because of danger of falling ice; some 250 emergency centres were opened and staffed mostly by volunteers; 3,000 extra workers were employed by Hydro-Québec for emergency repair work; 11,500 Armed Forces personnel were brought in to assist (the largest such deployment in history on Canadian soil); for the first time ever, on Friday 9 January, the Métro subway system was totally disabled; railway locomotives were used to provide emergency electrical power in the town of Boucherville; plans were even being made to bring in the icebreaker Louis St-Laurent to provide 24,000 megawatts of emergency electricity from its powerful engines. The Ice Storm 1998 is perhaps one of the largest natural disasters ever to hit North America.
And I arrived in Montréal in the middle of it.
Following are some pictures of the effects of the storm around the city and neighbouring areas.
This was the task of many vehicle owners for several days in a row. Sometimes a centimetre or more of ice accumulated in an hour or two on cars, and it was also encrusted on trees, buildings, road surfaces, the superstructure of bridges, and anywhere that was open to the elements. It was beautiful, but it was treacherous too.
Montréal has many large and beautiful trees. During the storm the crash of breaking branches was frequently heard, and the ground became littered with splintered wood, Falling limbs brought down power lines and blocked streets. It will be some years before the scars are fully healed. Some trees became so unsafe that they had to be removed completely. This shot and the following one were both taken in Parc Lafontaine on Rue Sherbrooke, not far from the Centre-Ville.
Much pruning will be needed as many trees still have shattered branches hanging loose,
Falling branches crushed cars and smashed roofs and balconies in many areas. Accumulations of snow and ice on roofs strained the structure of buildings and had to be removed. In a few cases roofs actually collapsed.
At first glance the effect of the ice, which remained on the trees for many days, was one of great natural beauty. But then, as the ice gradually melted in the warming temperatures, one began to notice the extent of damage that had been sustained by most of the mature large trees all over the city. Removal of the broken limbs alone involved many hours of work by city crews and others, and some trees will perhaps never regain the beauty they had before the storm.
A grim reminder . . . But can we blame El Nino for this? In the end we must blame ourselves,
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ICE CRIPPLES REGION
Power won't be fully restored for days
"It's going to be long, it's going to be hard, and it's going to take several days," Hydro spokesman Steve Flanagan told reporters. "Act responsibly and find a comfortable place to stay."
Heavy accumulations of ice and broken tree limbs snapped power lines across a wide swath from Hull to Drummondville, but the Montréal region bore the brunt of the damage."
1. A regular chore for several days
2. Shattered Trees
3. Large Trees suffered badly
and some have been badly mis-shapen by the weight of ice that was on them.
4. Homes received damage
Personal injuries increased dramatically, and even some deaths occurred, because people fell while attempting to remove snow from their house roofs.
5. Fairytale Crystal Hides the Damage
6. Mighty Pylons?
Sometimes we regard gigantic structures like the huge pylons that carry electricity across the land as being indestructible. But ice destroyed the Titanic, and ice caused havoc in Québec by crumpling pylons as if they were children's toys.
. . . of the fragility of human endeavour.
our own irresponsible
lack of concern
for this small planet
on which our lives depend.
P.O. Box 17, Lark Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada, A0L 1H0
Telephone 709 681-2256 and 514 521 3694
Lark Harbour, Newfoundland, and Montréal, Québec.
1998