HUDSON – As the community of Hudson woke up Thursday morning, half of its homes had no power at all.
Freezing rain and strong winds knocked out power lines in the small town, forcing its mayor to declare a state of emergency.
“We’re expecting a temperature of -15°C during the night, so we are worrying for our citizens, we want to make sure they are served and protected during the night,” said Hudson’s Director General Jean-Pierre Roy.
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The tight knit community rallied together and its community centre opened its doors to welcome residents in need.
“I find everybody in a situation like this, they get down all to the same level,” said Patricia Harding, a building monitor at Hudson’s community centre.
“Let’s be warm, let’s have a cup of coffee – it’ll be a lot of fun.”
The centre prepared beverages, snacks, bedding and wi-fi.
“It’s difficult,” said one Hudson resident.
“When you’re so used to using electricity. The kids and everybody are freaking out because they don’t have wi-fi.”
Across the province, tens of thousands of homes and businesses were left without power after trees and branches came in contact with power lines.
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