Clean-up continues after storm hits London, Ont., more rough weather on the way

Clean-up continues following Thursday’s storm that left hundreds of residents without power into early Friday morning.

Residents on Becher Street near the corner of Perry Street were without power Thursday after a downed tree took out the power line and one pole Thursday afternoon.

London Hydro tweeted that just over 400 people were without power after the storm. Power has since been restored to the majority of customers.

Bob Pegg, who lives right next door to the tree that went down on Becher Street, was one of two homes without power when Global News spoke to him Friday morning.

“I was out in the backyard with the dog, and there was nice warm breeze sweeping through. Half an hour later we come back in the house and find this tree across our street,” Pegg said.

Despite the delays, he was taking the outage in good spirits and said the hardest part was not having access to his Facebook account to post pictures of the incident.

Geraldine Shallow, who is in London visiting her sister who lives several doors down from where the tree fell, said the weather yesterday changed quickly.

“It was going to rain, and then it got very dark, and we heard a crash, and the tree fell over on the neighbour’s house,” she recalled.

Shallow commended London Hydro for how quickly they responded to the incident.

The tree has now been cleared from the road. The owner of the house fell on did not wish to comment on the incident.

The City of London said on Thursday that forestry crews responded to 50 calls related to downed trees and limbs following yesterday’s storm.

Chris Craiga,. general manager of Winmar London, said yesterday they responded to between 20 to 30 calls related to wind and water damage to homes.

“The best preventative maintenance for a property is grading around the outside of your homes and making sure the water does not pool near the foundation,” Craigan said.

Craigan said homeowners should also check that their sump-pump is working and that all valuables in the basement are a few feet off the ground.

The area is not out of the woods just yet when it comes to rain. Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for Strathroy, Komoka, and Western Middlesex County. Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to possibly develop into the evening.

Environment Canada said heavy downpours are likely to cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible.

In response to the forecast, the City of London said the Dundas Place road closure has been cancelled Friday night.

Dundas Street between Talbot and Wellington streets will remain open to vehicle traffic this evening.

The closer part of a pilot project to support economic recovery in the area is scheduled to resume Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m.

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