KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
WITH THE ROLLING BLACKOUTS GOING ON IN TORONTO.I HOPE ROB FORD WILL NOT END UP CHARGING MORE TAXES ON PEOPLE TO FIX THE HYDRO STATIONS.SOME CITIES PULL THE BLACKOUT SCAM TO GET A HIGHER HYDRO RATES.I HOPE TORONTO IS NOT PULLING THIS TRICK LIKE CALIFORNIA DONE TO THEIR CITIZENS YEARS BACK.AND SCAMMED BILLIONS FROM THE CITIZENS UNDER THE GUISE OF ROLLING BLACKOUTS.
Officials are warning that much of downtown Toronto will experience
power outages Tuesday afternoon and evening, in an attempt to reduce the
city’s energy consumption after Monday’s flooding brought massive power
outages, shut down the city’s subway system, and flooded homes across
the GTA.After Monday’s record rainfall caused flooding damage at
two of the city’s main transmission systems, the city’s hydro system is
“hanging on a thread,” Mayor Rob Ford said in a statement.
As a result, about 70,000 customers in downtown Toronto south of St. Clair Ave West, between Jane Street and Spadina Avenue, will experience “rotating blackouts” starting Tuesday afternoon, Toronto Hydro spokesperson Jennifer Link said. Those customers may not see their power return until Wednesday morning, she said.As of Tuesday afternoon, Environment Canada warned of more rain for Tuesday evening, and a risk of thunderstorms.Meanwhile, the mayor asked the rest of the city to help out by reducing their consumption and turning off non-essential electronics.Toronto Hydro’s president Anthony Haines said that the city is asking for 200,000 megawatts of power of volunteer “load-shedding,” to reduce strain on the system.
Much of the strain on the energy system is the result of flooding damage at the Richview and Manby transmission stations, which provides much of the city’s west end with power.Hydro One said between 400,000 and 500,000 people were blacked out at the height of the storm, and about 90 per cent of those had restored power by Tuesday morning. Toronto Hydro said about 50,000 of its customers remain without power, primarily in the west end of the city between Highway 427 and Jane Street. Restoring power to those customers depends on repairing the Manby and Richview stations, spokeswoman Jennifer Link said Tuesday.Terry Young, vice-president of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which forecasts energy consumption, issued a similar appeal for energy reduction.Mr. Young said that certain parts of the city’s west end, like the area between Yonge and Jane and between Bloor to Eglinton, are particularly vulnerable, because the downed stations has left those areas essentially “without a backup.”“The simple analogy is like if you’ve got a highway that you can’t use,” Mr. Young said of the damaged transmission stations. By redirecting power around those stations, Mr. Young said, “you’re using side roads” and placing strain on the overall system.The last time the IESO issued a public appeal for reduced consumption was in 2007, during a particularly bad heat wave in Ontario.In addition to his plea for reduced energy use, Mayor Ford also said that he is asking the city to review its emergency response after Monday’s flooding.“There are many things that worked well last night,” Mayor Ford said in a press conference Tuesday. But other areas, such as the way in which information was communicated, may need to be improved, the mayor said.
“Basements were flooding, people were panicking, their hydro wasn’t coming on, people needed answers,” Mr. Ford said. “It was hard to get answers because it was a little chaotic.”The 126 millimetres of rain recorded at Pearson Airport yesterday beat the previous record set by 1954’s Hurricane Hazel, according to Environment Canada.As of Tuesday morning, the city’s transit and roadways were still recovering.
The Bloor-Danforth subway line is still not operating between Kipling and Jane stations, after flooding and power outages shut down much of the city’s entire subway service Monday. The 504 King streetcar is also diverting due to a flooded underpass at Atlantic Avenue.Many of GO Transit’s trains and buses were delayed and re-routed Tuesday, and commuters are advised to check the GO website for an updated list of disruptions.The flooding had caused a full closure of the north-sound Don Valley Parkway last evening, but all lanes were re-opened in time for the morning rush hour. Lake Shore Boulevard and the Allen Expressway were also re-opened. Road closures in Toronto that continued into Tuesday morning included Rosedale Valley Road from Bayview to Park Road, and the underpass at King Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Peel Regional Police tweeted a number of intersections where officers are directing traffic Tuesday morning. Dixie Road north of Lakeshore Road East in Mississauga is closed in both directions due to dangerous conditions.Toronto Pearson tweeted Tuesday morning that its operations may be slower than usual, and that travellers should confirm their flight status before heading to the airport. Porter Airlines had cancelled all Toronto flights Monday after power outages at the airport, but flights appeared to be departing on time again as of Tuesday morning.By late afternoon, Toronto Hydro reported that there were still 70,000 customers, mostly in the west end, without power. The power outage also meant that subway service west of Jane Station could not be resumed for the afternoon rush hour.And there are signs of more bad weather to come. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement regarding a low pressure trough crossing southern Ontario early Wednesday. This may cause possible thunderstorms including torrential downpours, damaging winds, and large hail.For those cleaning up in the storm’s aftermath, the City of Toronto said it will have a special garbage collection on Saturday, July 13 for waste created by flooding. Items must be at the curb by 7 am and crews may take until Monday to collect all items. City-issued bag tags will not be required for this collection.With a report from Elizabeth Church
By Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – JULY 9,13
LAC-MEGANTIC, Que. - The official death toll in the
Quebec train disaster has climbed to 15, with two more bodies pulled
Tuesday from a scorched area police were calling a crime scene.With about another 35 other people still missing, residents expect the grim news to continue.Provincial police said they had 200 officers on the site performing a
criminal investigation — and because they were treating much of the
downtown core as a crime scene, trespassers could be charged with
obstructing justice.''There is potential evidence there that could eventually lead to criminal charges being laid,'' said Insp. Michel Forget.''I won't speculate on the elements we have recovered because they will be secret.''He said he doesn't believe terrorism is at play.He also refused comment when asked whether the evidence related to
any possible crimes was found at the scene of the derailment or further
up the line.Earlier on Tuesday, the national Transportation Safety Board is performing its own investigation.The TSB said Tuesday that authorities were never alerted to the fact
that a runaway train was on its way to levelling part of the small
Quebec town.
Rail dispatchers had no chance to intervene during the fateful 18-minute journey because they didn't know it was happening, TSB investigator Donald Ross told a news conference."There were no signals nor track circuits, so the rail-traffic controller had no — and would have had no — indication that there had been a runaway train," he said.Such systems are in place on busier rail lines including the one linking Montreal and Quebec City, but not on secondary lines, said TSB manager Ed Belkaloul.A clearer picture of the events leading up to the fatal derailment began to emerge Tuesday as board officials gave a bare-bones account of their investigation thus far.But they stressed it's much too early to say who was responsible for the security of the train that rolled into Lac-Megantic and exploded into balls of fire.''We want to know the answer to that question as well,'' Ross said.''We need to do all of our interviews and talk to all of the people before we make sure we've got it right.''It's very important to know exactly who did what. Who was there? What did they do? Until we've had a chance to interview everybody we need to talk to, we can't comment on that yet.''The finger-pointing has already begun, with untold financial stakes at play: there are already local rumours of potential lawsuits while various parties speculate about impending compensation.The company that owns the train, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, and fire officials in the nearby town of Nantes have blamed each other as investigators search for causes in the tragedy that has ravaged the close-knit community about 250 kilometres east of Montreal.The fire chief in Nantes has offered an assessment different from the railway's about who might have been to blame in the hours leading up to the tragedy.Edward Burkhardt, the president and CEO of MMA's parent company, Rail World, Inc., has suggested the fire crew didn't do enough — and even suggested the decision to shut off the locomotive to put out a fire earlier in the night might have disabled the brakes.The fire crew, however, says it was simply following procedures set out by the railway itself.Burkhardt is set to visit Lac-Megantic this week and will likely face tough questions and a fair degree of anger from residents.He told the CBC in an interview that the company has already changed some of its procedures — such as switching crews around Lac-Megantic and its older rail infrastructure.
He also suggested that the decision to staff trains with one-man crews, and leaving them unattended during breaks, might have to change."I think we followed normal industry practice, but the question is is that normal industry practice adequate in today's circumstances, particularly when you're handling trains of flammable materials like oil," Burkhardt told the network."I think there is going to be a number of changes in the rail industry overall as a result of what occurred here and I hope that we'll be at the forefront."When asked whether the one-person policy had been a good idea, Burkhardt replied: "Is this correct? I'd put a real question mark on that one right now... I can tell you on MMA, we're not leaving any of these trains unattended from now on."A key unanswered question now is: Who was the last person at the scene, tending to the stationary train? ''The employee who was on site initially was the employee who brought the train to Nantes,'' Ross said. ''That person secured the train.''Subsequent to that, the fire department personnel were on site and subsequent to that another MMA was called to assist the department.''Ross said the train was travelling well in excess of its authorized speed when it careened off the tracks, although no exact speed was given.Ross said the train started to roll after the firefighters and the rail employee had left.Questions were also raised at the news conference about the rail tankers involved in the crash.The tankers are known as DOT-111 and have a history of puncturing during accidents, Ross has said.Flaws in the DOT-111 have been noted as far back as a 1991 safety study. Among other things, its steel shell is too thin to resist puncturing in accidents, which almost guarantees the car will tear open, potentially spilling cargo that could catch fire, explode or contaminate the environment.''We've had a long record of advocating for further improvements to many of these 111s because they're a very common type of tanker car,'' Ross said Tuesday.''When you take very large volumes of petroleum products, like in this case, everyone sees the damage that was caused here.''
Ross said it's too early to say the explosions could have been prevented had the tanker cars been stronger.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis sent a blessing from the Vatican to those touched by the tragedy. In a statement announcing that "special apostolic blessing," the Pope expressed his sympathy to victims, their families and emergency workers.The Queen has also offered a message of condolence.It remains to be seen how the disaster might affect the ongoing political debates in Canada, and the United States, about energy transportation and pipelines.The head of TransCanada, which hopes to build the Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast, said he's been optimistic about the project's chances but stressed Tuesday he saw "no good news" for anybody in the tragic Quebec event.As for another project to build a West-East pipeline, Quebec's premier was asked whether the plan should be sped up in light of what's happened with rail transport.Premier Pauline Marois replied that it's "fair to ask that question." But she cautioned she didn't want to "get the two files, (the disaster and the pipeline-approval process), mixed up."There are plans to reverse the flow of an existing pipeline to bring Alberta oil to customers in the eastern half of Canada. The project is being reviewed by the National Energy Board.The premier also offered a first hint that her pro-independence government might be gearing up to blame Ottawa for the Lac-Megantic disaster.Marois said she's concerned about federal safety standards and wants answers. She pointed out that, under Canada's federal system, there's little the province can do to protect against rail disasters."All we can do now is demand answers from Ottawa," Marois said during a brief news conference outside her office in Quebec City."I believe they've understood and that's what they're working on."She was asked whether she might call a public inquiry into the disaster: "We're not there yet," she said. "It's a federal responsibility. The federal government will assume its responsibilities. But we can revisit all the issues related to this event in the coming days."Meanwhile, Lac-Megantic's mayor said Tuesday that about 1,200 residents were being allowed home.The town of about 6,000 has lost most of its downtown — with a library, a popular bar, a waterfront park, and dozens of homes and businesses incinerated.Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche pleaded for tourists to come this summer to the region, whose wild natural beauty and charming 19th-century towns are a popular draw.She urged people not to cancel their travel plans."If you want to do something for us, don't abandon us," Roy-Laroche told a news conference."Even if there's a catastophe downtown, everything else works."-With file from Patrice Bergeron in Quebec City
WITH THE ROLLING BLACKOUTS GOING ON IN TORONTO.I HOPE ROB FORD WILL NOT END UP CHARGING MORE TAXES ON PEOPLE TO FIX THE HYDRO STATIONS.SOME CITIES PULL THE BLACKOUT SCAM TO GET A HIGHER HYDRO RATES.I HOPE TORONTO IS NOT PULLING THIS TRICK LIKE CALIFORNIA DONE TO THEIR CITIZENS YEARS BACK.AND SCAMMED BILLIONS FROM THE CITIZENS UNDER THE GUISE OF ROLLING BLACKOUTS.
In wake of Toronto flood, officials warn of rolling blackouts for downtown
As a result, about 70,000 customers in downtown Toronto south of St. Clair Ave West, between Jane Street and Spadina Avenue, will experience “rotating blackouts” starting Tuesday afternoon, Toronto Hydro spokesperson Jennifer Link said. Those customers may not see their power return until Wednesday morning, she said.As of Tuesday afternoon, Environment Canada warned of more rain for Tuesday evening, and a risk of thunderstorms.Meanwhile, the mayor asked the rest of the city to help out by reducing their consumption and turning off non-essential electronics.Toronto Hydro’s president Anthony Haines said that the city is asking for 200,000 megawatts of power of volunteer “load-shedding,” to reduce strain on the system.
Much of the strain on the energy system is the result of flooding damage at the Richview and Manby transmission stations, which provides much of the city’s west end with power.Hydro One said between 400,000 and 500,000 people were blacked out at the height of the storm, and about 90 per cent of those had restored power by Tuesday morning. Toronto Hydro said about 50,000 of its customers remain without power, primarily in the west end of the city between Highway 427 and Jane Street. Restoring power to those customers depends on repairing the Manby and Richview stations, spokeswoman Jennifer Link said Tuesday.Terry Young, vice-president of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which forecasts energy consumption, issued a similar appeal for energy reduction.Mr. Young said that certain parts of the city’s west end, like the area between Yonge and Jane and between Bloor to Eglinton, are particularly vulnerable, because the downed stations has left those areas essentially “without a backup.”“The simple analogy is like if you’ve got a highway that you can’t use,” Mr. Young said of the damaged transmission stations. By redirecting power around those stations, Mr. Young said, “you’re using side roads” and placing strain on the overall system.The last time the IESO issued a public appeal for reduced consumption was in 2007, during a particularly bad heat wave in Ontario.In addition to his plea for reduced energy use, Mayor Ford also said that he is asking the city to review its emergency response after Monday’s flooding.“There are many things that worked well last night,” Mayor Ford said in a press conference Tuesday. But other areas, such as the way in which information was communicated, may need to be improved, the mayor said.
“Basements were flooding, people were panicking, their hydro wasn’t coming on, people needed answers,” Mr. Ford said. “It was hard to get answers because it was a little chaotic.”The 126 millimetres of rain recorded at Pearson Airport yesterday beat the previous record set by 1954’s Hurricane Hazel, according to Environment Canada.As of Tuesday morning, the city’s transit and roadways were still recovering.
The Bloor-Danforth subway line is still not operating between Kipling and Jane stations, after flooding and power outages shut down much of the city’s entire subway service Monday. The 504 King streetcar is also diverting due to a flooded underpass at Atlantic Avenue.Many of GO Transit’s trains and buses were delayed and re-routed Tuesday, and commuters are advised to check the GO website for an updated list of disruptions.The flooding had caused a full closure of the north-sound Don Valley Parkway last evening, but all lanes were re-opened in time for the morning rush hour. Lake Shore Boulevard and the Allen Expressway were also re-opened. Road closures in Toronto that continued into Tuesday morning included Rosedale Valley Road from Bayview to Park Road, and the underpass at King Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Peel Regional Police tweeted a number of intersections where officers are directing traffic Tuesday morning. Dixie Road north of Lakeshore Road East in Mississauga is closed in both directions due to dangerous conditions.Toronto Pearson tweeted Tuesday morning that its operations may be slower than usual, and that travellers should confirm their flight status before heading to the airport. Porter Airlines had cancelled all Toronto flights Monday after power outages at the airport, but flights appeared to be departing on time again as of Tuesday morning.By late afternoon, Toronto Hydro reported that there were still 70,000 customers, mostly in the west end, without power. The power outage also meant that subway service west of Jane Station could not be resumed for the afternoon rush hour.And there are signs of more bad weather to come. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement regarding a low pressure trough crossing southern Ontario early Wednesday. This may cause possible thunderstorms including torrential downpours, damaging winds, and large hail.For those cleaning up in the storm’s aftermath, the City of Toronto said it will have a special garbage collection on Saturday, July 13 for waste created by flooding. Items must be at the curb by 7 am and crews may take until Monday to collect all items. City-issued bag tags will not be required for this collection.With a report from Elizabeth Church
Quebec train disaster: now 15 declared dead, about 35 more still missing
By Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – JULY 9,13Rail dispatchers had no chance to intervene during the fateful 18-minute journey because they didn't know it was happening, TSB investigator Donald Ross told a news conference."There were no signals nor track circuits, so the rail-traffic controller had no — and would have had no — indication that there had been a runaway train," he said.Such systems are in place on busier rail lines including the one linking Montreal and Quebec City, but not on secondary lines, said TSB manager Ed Belkaloul.A clearer picture of the events leading up to the fatal derailment began to emerge Tuesday as board officials gave a bare-bones account of their investigation thus far.But they stressed it's much too early to say who was responsible for the security of the train that rolled into Lac-Megantic and exploded into balls of fire.''We want to know the answer to that question as well,'' Ross said.''We need to do all of our interviews and talk to all of the people before we make sure we've got it right.''It's very important to know exactly who did what. Who was there? What did they do? Until we've had a chance to interview everybody we need to talk to, we can't comment on that yet.''The finger-pointing has already begun, with untold financial stakes at play: there are already local rumours of potential lawsuits while various parties speculate about impending compensation.The company that owns the train, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, and fire officials in the nearby town of Nantes have blamed each other as investigators search for causes in the tragedy that has ravaged the close-knit community about 250 kilometres east of Montreal.The fire chief in Nantes has offered an assessment different from the railway's about who might have been to blame in the hours leading up to the tragedy.Edward Burkhardt, the president and CEO of MMA's parent company, Rail World, Inc., has suggested the fire crew didn't do enough — and even suggested the decision to shut off the locomotive to put out a fire earlier in the night might have disabled the brakes.The fire crew, however, says it was simply following procedures set out by the railway itself.Burkhardt is set to visit Lac-Megantic this week and will likely face tough questions and a fair degree of anger from residents.He told the CBC in an interview that the company has already changed some of its procedures — such as switching crews around Lac-Megantic and its older rail infrastructure.
He also suggested that the decision to staff trains with one-man crews, and leaving them unattended during breaks, might have to change."I think we followed normal industry practice, but the question is is that normal industry practice adequate in today's circumstances, particularly when you're handling trains of flammable materials like oil," Burkhardt told the network."I think there is going to be a number of changes in the rail industry overall as a result of what occurred here and I hope that we'll be at the forefront."When asked whether the one-person policy had been a good idea, Burkhardt replied: "Is this correct? I'd put a real question mark on that one right now... I can tell you on MMA, we're not leaving any of these trains unattended from now on."A key unanswered question now is: Who was the last person at the scene, tending to the stationary train? ''The employee who was on site initially was the employee who brought the train to Nantes,'' Ross said. ''That person secured the train.''Subsequent to that, the fire department personnel were on site and subsequent to that another MMA was called to assist the department.''Ross said the train was travelling well in excess of its authorized speed when it careened off the tracks, although no exact speed was given.Ross said the train started to roll after the firefighters and the rail employee had left.Questions were also raised at the news conference about the rail tankers involved in the crash.The tankers are known as DOT-111 and have a history of puncturing during accidents, Ross has said.Flaws in the DOT-111 have been noted as far back as a 1991 safety study. Among other things, its steel shell is too thin to resist puncturing in accidents, which almost guarantees the car will tear open, potentially spilling cargo that could catch fire, explode or contaminate the environment.''We've had a long record of advocating for further improvements to many of these 111s because they're a very common type of tanker car,'' Ross said Tuesday.''When you take very large volumes of petroleum products, like in this case, everyone sees the damage that was caused here.''
Ross said it's too early to say the explosions could have been prevented had the tanker cars been stronger.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis sent a blessing from the Vatican to those touched by the tragedy. In a statement announcing that "special apostolic blessing," the Pope expressed his sympathy to victims, their families and emergency workers.The Queen has also offered a message of condolence.It remains to be seen how the disaster might affect the ongoing political debates in Canada, and the United States, about energy transportation and pipelines.The head of TransCanada, which hopes to build the Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast, said he's been optimistic about the project's chances but stressed Tuesday he saw "no good news" for anybody in the tragic Quebec event.As for another project to build a West-East pipeline, Quebec's premier was asked whether the plan should be sped up in light of what's happened with rail transport.Premier Pauline Marois replied that it's "fair to ask that question." But she cautioned she didn't want to "get the two files, (the disaster and the pipeline-approval process), mixed up."There are plans to reverse the flow of an existing pipeline to bring Alberta oil to customers in the eastern half of Canada. The project is being reviewed by the National Energy Board.The premier also offered a first hint that her pro-independence government might be gearing up to blame Ottawa for the Lac-Megantic disaster.Marois said she's concerned about federal safety standards and wants answers. She pointed out that, under Canada's federal system, there's little the province can do to protect against rail disasters."All we can do now is demand answers from Ottawa," Marois said during a brief news conference outside her office in Quebec City."I believe they've understood and that's what they're working on."She was asked whether she might call a public inquiry into the disaster: "We're not there yet," she said. "It's a federal responsibility. The federal government will assume its responsibilities. But we can revisit all the issues related to this event in the coming days."Meanwhile, Lac-Megantic's mayor said Tuesday that about 1,200 residents were being allowed home.The town of about 6,000 has lost most of its downtown — with a library, a popular bar, a waterfront park, and dozens of homes and businesses incinerated.Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche pleaded for tourists to come this summer to the region, whose wild natural beauty and charming 19th-century towns are a popular draw.She urged people not to cancel their travel plans."If you want to do something for us, don't abandon us," Roy-Laroche told a news conference."Even if there's a catastophe downtown, everything else works."-With file from Patrice Bergeron in Quebec City
