Hundreds without power in Kitchener as high winds wreak havoc

High winds are causing power outages for hundreds of peopleacross Waterloo Region, according to city utilities.

About 800 households are without power in the Queen Street and Lancaster Streetarea in Kitchener, Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro said at around 6:54p.m. Power will be restored to most of the remaining households by 11 p.m., a spokesperson said.

A handful of homes situated north of Guelph street, whereabroken hydro pole is located, will not have power for another eighthours, she said.

All power has been restored to another 800 households thatwere without power as of 4:45 p.m. in the Grand River Hospital and Cherry Hill area of Kitchener.

Thatoutage was caused by downed power lines in the area, said Christine Matu, spokesperson for Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro. Waterloo Region and much of southern Ontario were being battered Monday bysustained 60 to 70 km/h winds, with "frequentgusts of 90 to 100 km/h," according to Environment Canada, which has issued a wind warning.

Residents are alsoreporting shattered bus shelters, broken tree limbs and downed or malfunctioning traffic lights in both Kitchener and Waterloo.

On mobile? Watch the wind take on a traffic light

Emergency crews have been dispatched, and the utility said power should be restored to customers in the area by 8 p.m. this evening.

As of 5:30 p.m. Monday,Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro said about 367residents in the West River Road area of Galt, as well as some households in Cambridge's east and south end and rural North Dumfries, are also without power.

Customers in the Highway 24 and West River Roadarea ofGalt should have power restored by 6:45 p.m. Monday, the utility said.

A spokesperson couldn't give specific times for rural areas, where outages have largely been caused by downed limbs on single properties.

Waterloo North Hydro alsoreported outages Monday afternoon in theColonial Acres and Lincoln Village areas.Crews responded and power was restored in those areas by 4:45 p.m., according to the utility.

High winds do pose a threat to power lines, and if you encounter a downed lined you should stay away from and call the utilities, the hydro companies advise.