A Newfoundland Power truck drives through a flooded area of Waterford Bridge Road as it responds to calls during Hurricane Igor in St. John's, N.L., on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010.Keith Gosse
A hydro worker has died in Port Elgin, Ont., while working to restore power after severe thunderstorms swept through southern and central Ontario Tuesday night.
The Ministry of Labour has been called in to investigate the death.
Hydro One reports almost 33,000 people are without power this morning following the storms which brought down trees and hydro wires. Environment Canada said a line of thunderstorms hit the region with wing gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour and heavy downpours.
On Tuesday, a woman was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries and a man suffered serious injuries after a tree toppled onto their car in Port Sydney.
Hydro One has restored power to a few thousand customers but some won't get their electricity back until 1 p.m. while for others it will be at least 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, police in Newfoundland say high winds and heavy seas continue to limit the search for an 80-year-old man swept out to sea during hurricane Igor.
RCMP Sgt. Boyd Merrill said Wednesday an eyewitness has confirmed the incident where the road beneath the man collapsed on Tuesday in the Random Island area, about 100 kilometres northwest of St. John's.
"The man was actually standing there with another person when he was swept away so that witness, his relative, gave the report to us," said Merrill.
Merrill said locals continue to search for any sign of the man but outside help can't reach the area.
"There's no way to get to Random Island, physically we can't get there," said Merrill. "The sea is too high, the wind is too strong and there's no road."
In the United States, authorities say severe thunderstorms in Michigan downed trees and power lines, knocking out electrical service to more than 136,000 customers.
The Grand Rapids Press reports the storms packed winds of up to 72 mph in the Grand Rapids area on Tuesday night. A downed power line was blamed for a house fire in Kent County's Ada Township.
Meanwhile, Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will visit various communities to survey the extensive storm damage.
At least 30 communities, including Clarenville and Marystown, have declared states of emergency because of flooding caused by the storm.
In Marystown, Mayor Sam Synard said Tuesday more than 200 millimetres of rain fell in 20 hours, washing sections of road into the sea.
At the height of its fury, Igor packed a peak wind gust of 163 kilometres an hour at Sagona Island.
Dozens of roads were washed out during the storm, which left around 50,000 utility customers without power at times.
The Burin Peninsula was cut off from the rest of the province after a bridge leading to the Trans-Canada Highway was damaged.
And in Alberta, heavy snow, freezing temperatures and poor visibility on Tuesday prompted the RCMP to issue a travel advisory for the Banff, Canmore and Lake Louise regions.
Mounties say motorists whose vehicles are not equipped with snow tires should think twice about driving in those areas until the weather clears.
There's also been some snow in the Calgary area, but it's not expected to stick around.
With files from Associated Press