As of 4pm this afternoon 106,000 people have had their power restored with 74,000 still experiencing an outage. Crews continue to assess and respond to unsafe conditions and restore service on a priority basis focusing on restoring critical customers like hospitals/emergency services and outages affecting large neighbourhoods.
The City’s Public Works staff have deployed all their resources to restore the City’s transportation system, collection of food waste and removing branches and debris. The removal of food waste is a priority. Operations are underway citywide to re-open arterial roadways and restore traffic infrastructure. Road closures and traffic impacts are still expected across Ottawa. Essential services will continue to operate. For safety, residents are encouraged to please stay home tomorrow, if feasible.
The City and Hydro crews are still dealing with a lot of power lines that are down, wires that are dangerously hanging over sidewalks and roadways. These are high priority for Hydro Ottawa and the City. So if you see this, please send me a photo, with an address location to bayward@ottawa.ca ASAP so that my team and I may help have these situations addressed.
At my request the City is setting up a large bin for organic waste drop-off at Lincoln Fields on the Richmond Road side by Pizza Pizza, starting tomorrow, for local residents in Bay ward who wish to dispose of their organic waste/spoiled food as well they have added an extra green bin pick up to Bay ward’s regular collection schedule (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday of this week, due to Monday’s stat holiday), staff will provide green bin collection services tomorrow, Wednesday May 25th. Residents are asked to place their green bin ONLY at the curb for collection tomorrow. City staff will do their best to complete collection, however, if your bin is not collected by end of day, residents are asked to bring the bin back in until their regularly scheduled collection day. Please ensure all packaging is removed from food before going into the bin and place your green bin at the curb for collection. For more info visit ottawa.ca
City crews are working to remove tree branches and yard waste, but it will take several weeks before the cleanup is finished. If such debris is small enough, residents should bring it to curb for collection, provided it does not impede the roadway or pedestrian access.
The City’s landfill at the Trail Waste Facility (4475 Trail Road) is also offering extended hours to accommodate special collections and will waive tipping fees for residents with storm-related materials to support residents with their disposal needs.
I am happy to let announce that my request to have the Pinecrest Community Center opened as a respite center has been successful. Residents now have access to the Center’s washrooms, showers and charging areas for mobile devices. The Center is open this evening until to 10pm and reopening tomorrow at 10am. The Center will continue to remain until further notice.
The City’s Emergency Operations Center is working with Community and Social Services Department through their network of community partners to address food security issues. A range of stakeholders have been meeting daily to ensure that food is provided to those in need. For example, the Ottawa Food Bank’s food hampers are being stocked with food that can be used to make a meal for those without power. They are also distributing gift certificates through their networks. Food for Thought and the Mission are providing hot meals to Ottawa Community Housing buildings. The Champlain Community Support Network continues to support seniors who are isolated and without power. These are just a few of the examples of the work that partners are doing to support those most vulnerable in our community.
If you were affected by the power outage and are in need of financial help, you may complete an application for emergency assistance for loss of food and in exceptional circumstances for help with medication, medical supplies or personal care.
Applications for emergency assistance are completed online or over the phone.
- Go to the online application for emergency assistance
- Or call 3-1-1, select 1 for English or 2 for French and 4 for Social Services
- City staff will complete an assessment to see if you qualify
- If you are already in receipt of Ontario Works, please call your case worker directly
You can also call 2-1-1 for a list of emergency food services.
Need help getting to a reception centre? Please contact Para Transpo at 613-560-5000 (TTY: 244-4833). For other disability-related requests for support, please call 3-1-1. Residents in need can also call 2-1-1 for information on government and local community-based health and social services. If your situation is life-threatening, please call 911.
We ask that residents continue to follow the City’s social media channels for the latest information and local media outlets including radio.
Ottawa Public Health, the City of Ottawa, and community partners want to keep residents healthy and safe as we recover from the effects of the severe thunderstorm that occurred on May 21, 2022. To that end, residents can find information on mental health resources, food safety during a power outage and protecting their health during the clean-up at OttawaPublicHealth.ca/SevereThunderstorm.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to reach out and support neighbours. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or concerns. My team and I will do our best to help you.