Emergency shelter opens for people in Côte Saint-Luc, NDG for second night as power outage drags on
Outage could last until Monday for some
The emergency shelter put in place by the Canadian Red Cross at the Côte-des-Neiges community centre will be open again on Sunday night for people in the Côte Saint-Luc and NDG area who don't have power at home.
"Due to the ongoing extreme cold and the power outage affecting certain areas of Côte Saint-Luc, and because Hydro-Québec cannot confirm when power will be restored, the City of Côte Saint-Luc is maintaining the operation of the emergency shelter," the City of Côte Saint-Luc wrote in a social media post.
The centre is located at 5347 Côte-des-Neiges Rd.
The public library will also remain open until 9 p.m. for those who need to stay warm.
In the borough of Côte‑des‑Neiges–Notre‑Dame‑de‑Grâce, affected residents can warm up at the Centre Communautaire Monkland, Centre sportif Trenholme, the NDG library, the Doug Harvey arena and the Centre sportif Côte-des-Neiges. All locations will be open until 10 p.m
In an email to CBC News Saturday night, Hydro-Québec said it was working to bring back power to customers tonight, but that some addresses may have to wait until Monday.
''We are working to restore power to part of our clientele as early as tonight. However, we are not able to specify when all clients will get their power back. The restoration of service will happen gradually," the email reads.
Côte Saint-Luc, Montreal West and the Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough were inviting people who need overnight shelter to head to the community centre.
"Due to the ongoing power outages in parts of Côte Saint-Luc, the extreme cold weather, and the fact that Hydro-Québec cannot confirm that power will be restored this evening, the City of Côte Saint-Luc has activated its agreement with the Canadian Red Cross, which will open and operate an emergency shelter," a notice from the city of Côte Saint-Luc reads.
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According to Hydro-Québec, the outages began some time on Saturday morning.
On its website, Hydro-Québec listed equipment failure as the cause of the outages in some sectors, while in other areas, the cause was listed as unknown.
How Côte Saint-Luc residents can get to shelter
The City of Côte Saint-Luc arranged for transportation to help people get to the emergency shelter.
Residents there can head to the Aquatic and Community Centre, which is located at 5794 Parkhaven Avenue, to be transported to the emergency shelter.
The city said cots would be available at the shelter.
"Residents planning to stay overnight are encouraged to bring essential personal items, including medications, medical supplies, phone chargers, toiletries, and any items needed for personal comfort," the notice read.
"If you leave your home, please ensure that you leave a small stream of water running at one of your sinks to help avoid your pipes from freezing."
People were also encouraged to reach out to friends and family who don't have power and offer them a place to stay.
For those returning home after having lost power for a few days, the municipality is reminding residents to check their fridges for spoiled food items in order to prevent food poisoning.
As of 5 p.m. Sunday, there were about 5,600 power outages in the Montreal region, with the majority of those affected located in the Côte Saint-Luc and NDG areas.