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Sudbury weathers Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy's impact on Sudbury was more bark than bite, it would seem, as the city emerged relatively unscathed from the intense winds, rain and snow.

Hurricane Sandy's impact on Sudbury was more bark than bite, it would seem, as the city emerged relatively unscathed from the intense winds, rain and snow.

While other Ontario cities are reporting much more severe situations — a woman was killed by an airborne sign at a parking lot in Toronto Oct. 29, and millions of people in New York have been left to deal with the aftermath of the monster storm which resulted in major flooding and power outages (33 people had been reported dead along the eastern seaboard at last count) — there wasn't much to report either from Greater Sudbury Police Service or from the City of Greater Sudbury.

As southern Ontario wakes up to power outages and downed trees, the Greater Sudbury Hydro Inc. (GSHI) distribution system fared very well in the face of Hurricane Sandy, the utility company said in a press release.

Since 4 p.m. on Oct. 29, there have been five permanent outages on the GSHI distribution system affecting 50 customers. Line crews responded, made repairs, and restored power in a timely manner.

Greater Sudbury Hydro operating staff continues to monitor the storm’s progress and the distribution system line crews are prepared to deal with outages that may come this way.

Should it be necessary, GSHI has mutual aid agreements in place with several other Local Distribution Companies (LDCs).

Const. Meghan O'Malley said no reports in relation to the storm were filed with police. In one instance, a shed had been blown onto some power lines in Dowling, she said, but it had been blown back down by the time police arrived. There were no injuries, and no report was filed.

“It's difficult for us to track these types of things,” O'Malley said, but since 7 a.m. the only incident police had responded to was the call in Dowling, an incident that could be attributed to the high winds.

City of Greater Sudbury corporate communications officer Shannon Dowling said city crews had anticipated the cold front that came in with the storm. About six salt and sand trucks were out on the roads, mostly spot salting bridges and intersections. Levack, which was hit slightly harder by the inclement weather than other locations in Greater Sudbury, received the most attention from road crews, she said.

“Our crews are always monitoring road and weather conditions, and they're always prepared,” she said.

Meanwhile, weather conditions are expected to improve as the week gets on, according to Environment Canada. Showers are expected to continue up until Oct. 31, while Nov. 1 comes with a 60 per cent chance of flurries. The sun is expected to make a triumphant return Nov. 2-5.


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