Belleville continues to recover after a severe storm

Hydro and municipal crews continue to help Quinte residents pick-up the pieces after a violent storm yesterday.

The brief storm hit Belleville just after 3 p.m. Strong winds, heavy rain and wide spread power outages came along with it. There have been no reports of tornados.

Heavy debris came off a few roofs in downtown Belleville, impacting buildings that house stores like Chilangos, and Haus + Home.

About 35,000 Hydro One customers were without power as well as most of Belleville. Most customers were back online shortly after 10 p.m.  Just at about 10 p.m., there were just about 4,800 homes left in the dark.

Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk announced in a Facebook post later that night that no fatalities were reported. Belleville Police add that there were no serious injuries reported.

Residents continue to assess the damage this morning. Power outages continue to impact the east end of Belleville, particularly in the Old East Hill. Glanmore National Historic Site, the dog park at East Zwick’s Park, Queen Victoria School, and St Joseph’s Catholic School are all closed today. The Quinte Mall and Belleville Public Library are both back open today after shutting down early yesterday.

The City of Belleville has announced in an update this morning, that Bridge Street East at Plaza Square and Front Street at Pinnacle Street remain closed to traffic. Several traffic lights are out across the area.

Belleville Transit continues to encourage passengers to check on their route by visit the transit app. Several buses continue to be delayed. Staff say that Route 2 will be running hourly until 1:30 p.m. today.

The City of Belleville has opened up the Leaf and Yard Waste Depot with extended hours today and through Sunday. The depot is open for residents to drop off branches and debris, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Staff will continue to post updates online and through social media.