Strong Winds Expected As Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Effect For Peterborough Area
/Environment Canada has issued a Severe Thunderstorm watch for Peterborough City, Lakefield and Southern Peterborough County.
File Photo, 2021.
Peterborough Blogs
Special Weather Statement In Effect As Strong Wind Expected To Blow Through Peterborough
/Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the Peterborough area as high winds are expected to blow through the area on Friday afternoon.
File Photo.
Strong wind gusts of up to 70 km/h are expected to start around noon and last until Friday evening.
Environment Canada warns that loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage.
Gusty winds can damage soft shelters, tents and awnings at outdoor events.
Isolated power outages possible.
Peterborough Public Health Activates Heat Warning Information System As Summer Weather Approaches
/Peterborough Public Health has activated its Heat Warning and Information System (HWIS) to advise residents of the best way to protect their health when temperatures soar.
File Photo.
Environment and Climate Change Canada will issue Heat Warnings in advance of the heat event. Forecasters will assess if two or more consecutive days of weather that meet either the humidex or temperature criteria (daytime highs or nighttime lows) are expected in the region.
If so, a Heat Warning will be issued. Information about these warning levels is available on the Extreme Weather - Heat webpage under Environmental Hazards on www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca and outlined in the news release.
A Heat Warning is issued when two consecutive days are forecasted to have a daytime high temperature greater than or equal to 31°C AND a nighttime temperature greater than or equal to 20°C or a humidex greater than or equal to 40. This level of warning reminds residents of the following core messages: to keep their home cool, stay out of the heat, keep the body cool and hydrated, assist others, and recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion.
An Extended Heat Warning will be issued for a heat event lasting three or more days. This level of warning reminds residents of the core messages above, in addition to providing details on how and where to stay cool, advising suspension of strenuous outdoor activities, reminders to assist vulnerable groups, and to watch for further information through the media and the Public Health website.
During heat warnings, One Roof Community Centre will extend its hours of service to 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 – 9:30p.m. One Roof will close between noon and 1:00 p.m. for meal preparation and cleaning; a lunch meal will be served between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Special Weather Statement In Effect As Significant Rainfall Expected In Area
/20 to 50mm of rain are expected between Monday night and Tuesday in the Peterborough area.
Stock Photo.
Affected areas include The City of Peterborough and Peterborough County.
In addition to significant rain, thunderstorms are also possible.
According to Environment Canada, there is some uncertainty with the track and timing of this cold front that will move across the area. Hence exact timing and total rainfall amounts are subject to change.
The precipitation is expected to end by Tuesday evening.
Teams Of Veterans, First Responders And Civilians Arrive In Peterborough With Team Rubicon To Help With Storm Clean Up
/The City of Peterborough welcomes Team Rubicon Canada to Peterborough to assist eligible property owners with tree and green waste clean-up as part of storm recovery efforts following the May 21, windstorm.
Team Rubicon Canada at its first Disaster Training Camp in Prince George BC, May 9, 2022. Photo courtesy of Team Rubicon Canada.
Team Rubicon Canada is a registered charity and volunteer-based disaster response organization that sends skilled disaster response teams into areas requiring assistance. The teams are made up of Canadian Military veterans, first responders and passionate civilians who have the expertise and specialized equipment to quickly assess damage to properties and put together a safe work plan at no cost to homeowners.
Team Rubicon teams will be deployed in the City of Peterborough for the next few weeks to assist eligible residents with tree and green waste clean-up.
Services are being offered to City of Peterborough residents who own and occupy their property and currently receive the City of Peterborough Property Tax Assistance Program, according to the following qualification following qualifications:
Low Income Senior aged 65 years or older receiving benefits under the Guaranteed Income Supplement or the Guaranteed Annual Income System.
Low Income Senior aged 55-64 with a combined taxable income of less than $30,000 per year.
Low Income Person with a Disability receiving benefits under the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
Eligible residents who would like assistance from Team Rubicon can complete a request form online at https://arcg.is/iSqOX or dial 211 to request service by phone. 211 is a 24/7 helpline that assists residents access community, social and government services.
Team Rubicon will only assist with cleanup of tree debris and limbs that are on the ground.
They will saw fallen trees, branches and brush that are on the ground into sizes that comply with the City’s Green Waste Collection program wherever possible and move the debris to the curb for Green Waste Collection. Material that exceeds the size or weight for Green Waste Collection may be collected through a Special Green Waste Collection that will take place several weeks later, when the City has the resources available.
“Even with the extraordinary support our community has provided one another, there are still residents who are struggling to deal with downed trees and property damage,” remarked Mayor Diane Therrien. “This dedicated group of trained volunteers will thankfully be able to assist our residents who might not be able to afford to hire help. The City is grateful for the support that Team Rubicon will offer residents, and grateful to 211 Ontario for their support.”
Each Team Rubicon team will make arrangements with the property owner to undertake any work on site before work begins. Team Rubicon operates independently from the Corporation of the City of Peterborough.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to be working with the City of Peterborough during this challenging time for the community,” said Dave McAllister, Director of Programs and Operations for Team Rubicon Canada. “Our teams are on the ground and ready to put their disaster response skills to work to support the residents of Peterborough and help accelerate their recovery in the wake of this disaster.”
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Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Effect For Peterborough And Surrounding Areas
/A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Peterborough, Southern and Northern Peterborough County, Lakefield and other areas. Issued by Environment Canada at 9:33 a.m. on Wednesday.
Lightning in Bobcaygeon. Photo by Jay Callaghan.
Environment Canada reports nickel sized hail, wind gusts up to 90 km/h. and heavy downpours are all possible beginning in the afternoon.
They suggest remaining indoors if threatening weather approaches. Heavy downpours are also likely to produce poor driving conditions.
Peterborough Parks and Trails Closed From Windstorm Until Further Notice
/All City of Peterborough parks and trails are closed until condition assessments can be done from fallen trees from the Saturday windstorm announced Thursday.
There have been almost 12,100 requests for service through the City of Peterborough Public Works since the storm on Saturday. Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.
The following parks/fields are open for usage and permitted activities:
Baseball diamonds – Bowers Park, Brinton Carpet, Bonnerworth North and South, Fairbairn/Poplar, Kinsmen, Milroy, Northland, Stacey Green and Turner
Sports fields – Eastgate Hogan, Eastgate Mark Forrester, Milroy and Kinsmen
Bonnerworth skatepark
Simcoe and Bethune basketball courts
The City has urged everyone to respect park closures and to stay away from trees, on public and private property until the condition of the trees can be assessed and any necessary remediation work is completed as trees and limbs have continued to fall.
As incoming inclement weather approaches with higher winds, a tree that may appear to be safe could have structural damage that poses a risk.
Inspections have begun in City parks and trails. Nicholls Oval, Jackson Park and Sherbrooke Woods have sustained substantial damage to treed areas.
Parks that are re-opened following assessments will be posted at peterborough.ca/stormresponse as they are re-opened or residents can call 705-742-7777 ext. 0 for an update.
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NDP's Andrea Horwath Hits Peterborough Days After Massive Windstorm Strikes Town
/New Democratic Party (NDP) provincial leader Andrea Horwath stopped in Peterborough to witness the damage from Saturday’s massive windstorm on Wednesday afternoon.
NDP Provincial Leader Andrea Horwath (left), Mayor Diane Therrien (middle) and Peterborough-Kawartha riding candidate Jen Deck at the Lions Club where several large trees were uprooted from Saturday’s windstorm. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Horwath came at Mayor Diane Therrien’s request shortly after the storm hit the area. It was the first day Horwath went back on tour from isolation since she tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday.
“It's shocking to see the impact of the storm,” said Horwath. “One minute, everything was a normal Saturday afternoon and then within a matter of minutes, complete havoc rained through the community and that's a scary thing. Seeing it physically makes me feel a lot of concern for people who actually went through it."
“There's a lot of devastation," said Therrien. “We still have a lot of residents without power and a lot of folks who are really struggling. We worry about seniors that are isolated and some of the folks in some of the high-rise buildings with accessibility issues are certainly a concern so the City's been doing everything they can.”
Therrien, Horwath and Peterborough-Kawartha riding candidate Jen Deck walked around the East City area and discussed issues that needed to be addressed as a result of the storm’s damage.
“I think these kinds of incidents reinforce the imperative that we have to deal with the climate emergency," said Horwath. “Our plan, the Green New Democratic Deal is one that is very proactive that will bring our greenhouse gas emissions down by 50 percent by 2030 and have a carbon-neutral economy by 2050."
Horwath was critical of the province’s disaster response system.
"The disaster response system in Ontario has never really functioned very well so people end up waiting sometimes years for any kind of financial assistance and that's not just good enough," explained Horwath. "We need to be getting financial assistance into people's pockets as quickly as possible, our plan calls for a 30-day maximum in terms of having to wait."
@ptbo_canada #PTBOCanada resident caught Saturdays #ONStorm from their apartment building. Transformers & Hydro lines down all over the city🤳: Nevil Patel #Derecho #Weather #Transformer ♬ Stan by Eminem - vanessa
Therrien called a state of emergency for Peterborough earlier that morning after submitting the declaration to the province yesterday.
"The state of emergency helps the municipality by giving us a little bit more flexibility to work around the normal government process,” said Therrien. “Government doesn't always work the fastest so being able to call in different partners rather than go through a procurement process, just to be able to say we need this kind of equipment, we need this kind of people and volunteers now. It just gives us the ability to be more nimble in our decision making."
Therrien could not offer a timeline of when the state of emergency will be lifted.
Most Areas In Peterborough To Have Restored Power By End of Tuesday
/Most of the City is expected to have power restored by Hydro One while damage caused by Saturday’s severe windstorm is under repair.
File Photo.
The storm is causing extreme pressure on City of Peterborough public works, forestry, and waste collection services. Crews are doing their best to address storm damage and respond to the increased volume of material.
City crews are prioritizing requests for service related to downed trees along streets and sidewalks. With the extent of the damage, there is a significant backlog. Residents are asked to refrain from calling more than once to report a location. Requests are logged and prioritized.
As some streets may still be blocked by downed trees and power lines, some areas may not receive curbside waste collection on their scheduled day this week if crews are unable to safely access the area in waste collection vehicles at the time of collection.
Green waste
There is no limit on the quantity of green waste that can be placed at the curb; however, it must be put out within guidelines on sizes and weights to allow crews to handle the material. Due to the high amount of material, collection may be delayed.
Green Waste includes brush, branches, hedge and tree trimmings, grass clippings, leaves, house and garden plants, trimmings and small quantities of sod (within weight limits).
All brush and branches must be tied in bundles up to one metre (three feet) in length and 30 centimetres (12 inches) in diameter, weighing no more than 23 kilograms (50 pounds). Larger-size items cannot be loaded into the collection vehicle.
Stumps, soil and stones are not accepted through the green waste collection.
As an alternative to curbside collection, the City accepts green waste at the Bensfort landfill at a fee of $7 for 100 kilograms or less of material or for $95 per tonne for the entire load.
For green waste collection questions, please call 705-745-1386.
Garbage
For this week and next week, the City will be adjusting its garbage collection guidelines to allow one extra garbage bag or one extra garbage can (lift) to be put out for collection for each household, increasing the limit to three from two, to accommodate the disposal of spoiled food due to the extended power outages.
A lift is:
One plastic garbage bag no greater than 66 centimetres by 90 centimetres and a maximum of 23 kilograms (50 pounds) in weight;
One garbage can no greater than 125 litres (30 gallons) with side handles and a lid and 23 kilograms (50 pounds) in weight; or
One item less than one metre (three feet) in length and 23 kilograms (50 pounds) in weight.
Peterborough residents may also take garbage directly to the landfill at 1260 Bensfort Rd. during operating hours. Please refer to the City website at peterborough.ca for further details.
For garbage collection matters, please call 705-745-1386.
For general waste management related questions, please call 705-742-7777, ext. 1657.
While the garbage collection limit is adjusted for the storm response, the City asks that residents please separate out recyclable materials before throwing out food waste. There is no limit on the amount of recyclables that can be put out for collection each week. Recyclable materials can also be taken to the Recycling Depot on Pido Road at no charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
City facilities
City Hall at 500 George St. N. and the Peterborough Waste Management Facility/landfill on Bensfort Road will re-open for in-person services on Wednesday. The landfill is only able to accommodate transactions for customers using cash or customers with landfill accounts until its internet and phone service are restored (updates will be provided when services are restored).
Other City facilities are closed for public use for regular services on Wednesday.
Social Services will offer in-person service at the Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer St. N. on Wednesday for emergency basic needs assistance for clients. For all other inquiries, clients should contact their case workers by phone or email. Social Services will transfer to the Social Services office on Charlotte Street when power is restored to that facility.
Peterborough Transit is operating regular service. The customer kiosk at the downtown terminal is currently closed due to the power outage.
Access to showers and charging for electronics
For anyone who needs access to showers, the City will provide access to showers at Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, Healthy Planet Arena and Kinsmen Civic Centre from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 25 and May 26 Individuals must ask to use the showers to get access to the amenities at the facilities.
For those looking to charge electronic devices and electronic mobility aids, the following locations will be available for charging devices (regular services at the locations will not be available) on Wednesday, May 25, 2022:
Peterborough Public Library, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Healthy Planet Arena, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Peterborough Museum and Archives, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Safety
The City strongly encourages residents to stay away from trees in parks and on trails. Assessment of damage continues. Damaged trees may not yet be identified or addressed, which may be hazardous with limbs that may fall. The cleanup following the storm is ongoing and it will take some time for crews to move throughout all of the City’s parks and trails.
Emergency services urge residents to only use 9-1-1 for emergencies. They are experiencing a higher-than-normal volume of non-emergency calls to 9-1-1.
Peterborough Fire Services reminds residents that open-air burning with wood is not permitted in the City. Only outdoor fire appliances that burn propane or natural gas are permitted. Chimneys and other wood-burning devices are not approved.
Residents are asked to refrain from raking green waste, including leaves and branches, into the streets as they are a hazard to cyclists and vehicles using the road, and it may block catch basins, which could lead to local flooding.
Community food programs
Community agencies continue to provide food programs, including:
Salvation Army, 219 Simcoe St., takeaway breakfast, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday
One Roof Community Centre, 99 Brock St., take away lunch, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Kawartha Food Share continues to support its member food banks that are operating throughout the community
Community Care meals program
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Crews Arrive From The US To Help Local Hydro And Forestry Workers After One Of The Most Deadly Wind Events In Canadas History
/Crews crossed the border on Monday to assist crews already working to clean up from Saturday’s storm in Ontario, Hydro One announced on their social media pages.
According to Hydro One, in the first 24 hours after destructive thunderstorms passed through the province, Hydro One crews have restored power to more than 360,000 customers throughout its affected areas in Ontario, with over 226,000 customers that remain without power.
Damage includes at least 800 broken poles, and just as many downed power lines, along with countless trees and large branches causing power outages.
This is Caleb. He is one of almost 100 hydro workers here from Alabama. Thank you very much gentlemen for coming to @CityPtbo to help us out. “200 poles to do and none of them are easy”. I wish all of you a safe, productive day. We are grateful 🥹 pic.twitter.com/QTisN7xRMO
— Councillor Lesley Parnell (@LesleyParnell) May 24, 2022
