The weather really caused a stir on Friday in Shawinigan, Mauricie: torn roofs, slippery roads and sometimes great loss of visibility on the road; residents of an HLM even had to evacuate their homes.
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The winds have indeed heavily damaged an HLM in Shawinigan. A good part of the roof of the Sacré-Coeur residence was torn off. These are 43 residents who find themselves homeless on a Christmas day. The Red Cross took care of several residents while waiting for emergency work to be carried out.
Still in Shawinigan, the hospital was also the victim of strong winds. The windows on the 4th, 5th and 6th floors had to be caulked following an air infiltration. The CIUSSS confirmed to us that it had increased the heating by 10 degrees in order to warm the patients.
Several other small incidents took place here and there. Rang Saint-Mathieu was closed because a tree fell on electrical wires. Several carports were also blown away.
On the roads, the pavement was slippery. A few road trips and a few material collisions were listed. A major accident involved seven vehicles this followingnoon on Highway 40, near Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade. There was one minor injury.
In closing, at the end of the day, more than 13,000 Hydro-Québec customers were still without power. He still had a total of 109 interruptions.