Four dead, more than 900K without power after heavy storms wreak havoc in Canada

Montreal: Four people are dead and more than 900,000 are without power after an intense thunderstorm pummeled Canada's southern Ontario on Saturday afternoon.

The severe weather system left fallen trees and downed power lines in its path as emergency crews across the province were inundated with calls for help.

Ontario police said on Twitter that four people had died and several more were injured due to a strong summer thunderstorm.

Tragedy struck first in Brampton where police said a woman in her 70s was walking alone in the area of Belmont Drive and Birchbank Road when she was struck by a falling tree.

One man was killed when a tree fell on the trailer he was staying in. A woman in her seventies was also crushed by a tree while walking in the storm.

In the federal capital Ottawa, another person was killed by the storm, but local police declined to give further details.

The fourth victim was a woman in her fifties. She drowned when her boat capsized in the Ottawa River, which separates Ottawa and Quebec, during the storm, the CBC reported, citing local police.

Nearly 900,000 homes in the two provinces were without power Saturday night, according to online counts from local providers Hydro One and Hydro-Quebec.

Provincial party leaders took to social media in the aftermath of the storm to offer their condolences to the friends and families of the victims.

During the height of the extreme weather event, Toronto Fire said it received nearly 150 calls from people looking for help. At the same time, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) was forced to close its non-emergency due to the influx of calls.

Const. Alex Li said that within a two-hour window, TPS received as many as 360 calls for service.

Deputy Fire Chief Tony Bavota told CP24 Saturday that one firefighter was injured after he was struck by a falling tree while responding to a 911 call and was transported to the hospital in stable condition.