Crews continue clean up after Boxing Day storm, flooding and high winds still to come

Clean up is underway across London, Ont., in the wake of freezing rain on Boxing Day that downed trees and caused power outages across the city.

While the ice storm is over, a flood warning is now in place due to heavy rain expected on Sunday and strong winds forecasted for Monday have London Hydro bracing for potential further outages.

While London Hydro crews are working to deal with the damage from Boxing Day, they are also resting up in anticipation of Monday's winds, spokesperson Kathryn Arnot said.

"We need to be prepared for that because what we might see is a lot of these frozen limbs start to fall off again with high winds," Arnot said.

Environment Canada predicts wind gusts of up to 80 km/h.

Hydro crews responded to thousands of outages across the region on the evening of Dec. 26. In London, Ont., trees fell onto people's homes and blocked roads.

At one point, London Hydro said more than 70 outages were active, though that number fluctuated. The utility company also turned to the fire department for help.

As of Saturday night, London Hydro had about 31 customers without power across eight outages. By Sunday morning that had decreased to a few individual homes across the city, Arnot said.

London Hydro is currently dealing with approximately 300 trouble calls, Arnot added, and they are working through the list, making sure they reach out to each customer.

Flood warning in place

Local streams, rivers and ditches are expected to rise Monday, according to the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA).

According to Environment Canada, 30 to 60 milimetres of rain are expected on Sunday, with locally higher amounts possible. Temperatures will stay above freezing, but with the ground frozen and already saturated, rain, melting snow and ice will cause runoff, leading to potential flooding, the UTRCA said in a statement.

"Everyone is reminded to stay out of any flooded areas and not drive through flooded roadways," UTRCA said. "Parents and caregivers should keep children and pets away from watercourses."

With rising water levels, it is not safe to take shelter along riverbanks, or low-lying areas, UTRCA warned. Stream banks may be slippery and any ice cover will be unstable.

The Thames River is expected to reach peak levels Monday evening and will remain high throughout the rest of the week.