Prior to the 1998 storm, the last major ice storm to hit Montreal (1961) deposited around 30 millimetres (1.2 in) to 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of ice. At the height of this crisis, Operation Recuperation involved 15,784 deployed personnel (including 3,740 Reservists) from all three CF commands: 10,550 in Quebec, 4,850 in Ontario and 384 in New Brunswick. The industry’s losses in income were likely in the tens of millions of dollars for 1998 alone, and the storm’s damage was so extensive that many estimated it would take years or even decades for the industry to fully recover. With several municipalities calling a state of emergency, the federal government deployed the Canadian Forces to provide shelter and medical care, as well as assistance with the restoration of the power grid. Furthermore, because local processing plants were shut down, over 10 million litres of milk, valued at about $5 million, had to be discarded. The ice storm of 1998 was one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history. 2008.—The 1998 ice storm, which impacted many parts of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, resulted in significant damage to forests. Abstract. Casualties and Damage from the Ice Storm of 1998 . On January 7, the provinces of New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec requested aid from the Canadian Forces (CF), and Operation Recuperation began on January 8. It caused massive damage to trees and electrical infrastructure all over the area, leading to widespread long-term power outages. Soc. This ice storm area is broad, and the “ice causes considerable damage to forests, paralyzes power grids, topples towers, crushes buildings, and leaves hundreds of thousands and even millions of people stranded on ice roads and walkways,” Rustad continues. Countless tree branches and pipes used to channel maple sap collapsed under the weight of the ice, and some producers in Québec lost virtually their entire sugar bush. CFS Availability: PDF (request by e-mail) Mark record. The ice storm of 1998 was one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history. Over 4 million people in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick lost power.

Many barns also collapsed under the weight of the ice, killing the animals trapped inside.Millions of trees were brought down by the weight of ice around the affected areas.Three weeks after the end of the ice storm, there were still thousands of people without electricity. Between 4 and 10 January 1998, sections of the St. Lawrence Valley from Kingston to Québec’s Eastern Townships received up to 100 mm of ice pellets and freezing rain — more than double the icy precipitation normally received in those areas in a whole year. In Quebec alone, 150,000 people were without electricity as of January 28.With many roads impassable due to heavy snowfall or fallen trees, broken power lines and coated with a heavy layer of ice, emergency vehicles could hardly move. All but one power linkage to the island of Montreal were down for several days,The loss of electrical power also greatly affected pig and cattle farmers, as they could no longer provide water or adequate ventilation to their barns full of livestock, leading to the death of many animals. Catalog ID: 21473.

Heigh, J.; Fox, G.; McKenney, D.W.; Rollins, K. The Forestry Chronicle 79: 31-46. Research conducted since the storm has raised the concern that there may be a connection between Over 15,000 personnel were deployed in total, making “Operation Recuperation” the largest peacetime deployment of troops in Canadian history. 28 people died, many from hypothermia. dominated forests of Gatineau Park, Quebec. The intensity of the damage was quite variable both between stands … The affected area was home to approximately one quarter of all Canadian dairy cows, whose owners faced major challenges when the electrical grid failed. Year: 2003.

In the ice storm of 1998, there were more than 80 hours of freezing rain, nearly double the annual average.

Many cattle became sick, as it was impossible to feed or milk.

Impact of the 1998 ice storm on tree health and growth in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) The maple syrup industry was also severely affected. Millions … However, the 1998 storm left deposits twice as thick, downing power lines all over the region, damaging most of the trees in Montreal, and leaving streets covered in a thick, impassable layer of ice.On January 4, 1998, an upper level low system stalled over the A series of surface low pressure systems passed in this Farther to the south, southern Ontario and western New York, as well as much of the Appalachian region from The bridges and tunnels linking Montreal with the South Shore were closed because of concerns about weight tolerances or ice chunks falling from the superstructures. Available from: Great Lakes Forestry Centre. It was the largest deployment of troops ever to serve on Canadian soil in response to a CF members from about 200 units across Canada helped provincial and municipal workers clear roads, rescue people and animals trapped by storm wreckage, evacuate the sick, shelter and feed about 100,000 people frozen out of their homes, and ensure that farmers had the generators and fuel required to keep their operations going. The North American Ice Storm of 1998 (also known as Great Ice Storm of 1998) was a massive combination of five smaller successive ice storms in January 1998 that struck a relatively narrow swath of land from eastern Ontario to southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, and bordering areas from northern New York to central Mainein the United States. J. Torrey Bot. The economic impact of the 1998 ice storm on eastern Ontario woodlots: Case studies of red pine and white cedar.

Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map. [Article in French] Charbonneau J, Ouellette FR, Gaudet S. Between January 5th and January 9th 1998, Quebec was struck by a natural disaster, an ice storm that disrupted the daily lives of millions of people.

Language: English. Thank you.

[Psychosocial impact of the 1998 Québec Ice Storm.].

Like other major ice storms that have affected the Throughout the storm and its immediate aftermath, approximately 2.6 million people — 19 per cent of all Canadian employees—were impeded or prevented from travelling to work.