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Many streets, especially in the older parts of Kingston, were rendered impassable.About 600,000 people in Ontario lost power and 77,000 people made insurance claims totaling about $200 million at the time.Thirty five people died due to the storm, including four from Ontario. Size of the Ice Storm of 1998 The water equivalent of freezing rain, ice pellets, and a little snow was double previous major ice storms. Over 108 millimetres of freezing rain and ice fell in Cornwall, 73 mm fell in Kingston and about 85 mm fell in Ottawa during the storm, which lasted from Jan. 5 to 10. "They also had cots set up at the Utilities Kingston headquarters on John Counter Boulevard.Also, volunteers cooked meals for the crews and citizens donated food as well.By the time the crews got the majority of Kingston’s power restored, an impromptu parade down Princess Street was organized for Saturday night of Jan. 17 and crews were cheered by Kingston residents walking along the downtown street. "City buses were also used as mobile warming huts and feeding stations. "I didn’t want people driving by the mayor’s house with the lights on. "For me, that was the beginning of the ice storm. "Jim Keech, the president and CEO of Utilities Kingston, who was president during the storm as well, called the event a "unique experience. January 8, 1998, was a day most Kingstonians over the age of 30 will probably never forget.That was the first full day of the so-called ‘Storm of the Century’ for Kingston, an ice storm that decimated parts of the northern United States, Maritimes, Quebec and eastern Ontario, including Kingston and Ottawa.That Thursday morning, people woke to the sounds of falling branches, the pitter-patter of ice hitting windows and for many residents, no power and the sight of ice covered tree branches lying on the ground tangled in electrical wires, some live. The upper flow then turned eastward, bringing this air mass down toward the Bay of Fundy. At the same time, a high pressure center was sitting farther north in Labrador, keeping an easterly flow of very cold air near the surface. "Choose among a variety of subscription packages and stay up to date with convenient home delivery and our on the go digital e-edition.A member of Sun Media Community Newspapers part of Postmedia Network. The Ice Storm of 1998 was one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history. As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, Ontario Hydro was reporting 22 outages, affecting over 22,000 people. The situation drew comparisons to the deadly ice storm that encased Quebec in 1998, as hydro crews across the region struggled to restore service. “It’s certainly a bad situation. Over 15,000 personnel were deployed in total, making “Operation Recuperation” the largest peacetime deployment of troops in Canadian history. "We had never experience anything of that size before, that many people without power and that much devastation all at once. "Rural communities in eastern Ontario and western Quebec — and the industries they depended on — were particularly devastated by the storm.One Statistics Canada report suggested dairy farmers dumped more than 10 million litres of milk during the storm because processing plants shut down.There were sugar bushes and apple orchards dating back generations that were either severely damaged or destroyed.Ontario's association of maple producers predicted it would take syrup production more than three decades to return to normal in eastern Ontario.Mike Harris, Ontario's premier at the time, urged people to remain calm — and promised help was on the way. "That wasn't always easy, however, for the thousands of people left in the dark to wait for assistance.Susan Johnson of Chelsea, Que., gave CBC News a first-hand account of No power meant no functioning water pump at her home in the Gatineau Hills. It was — as Environment Canada aptly called it at year's end — the ice storm of the century. Published on: January 5, 2018 | Last Updated: January 5, 2018 2:39 PM EST "Bennett also enlisted the help of military personnel from CFB Kingston, who helped clean up downed trees on the city streets.Members of the military, Royal Military College cadets and other volunteers knocked on every door of homes in the city checking on people who didn’t have power. "In many respects it brought the community together," he said.Bennett said the city learned a lot of lessons during the ice storm and months and years after the ice storm officials from other municipalities came to Kingston to study the city’s response to the emergency.He also said the city’s emergency plan was outdated at the time and mentioned train derailments, plane crashes and chemical spills but never an ice storm. It was — as Environment Canada aptly called it at year's end — the ice storm of the century.From Jan. 5 to 10, 1998, freezing rain and ice pellets battered a wide swath of eastern Canada, plastering affected areas with heavy ice that toppled power and phone lines, trees, utility poles and electrical transmission towers.More than 85 millimetres of freezing rain and ice pellets fell on Ottawa. The total precipitation from the storms totalled 80 mm or more.Similar to this storm — and as is similar in many weather systems that affect southern Ontario — the Ice Storm of 1998 began in Texas.The low pressure, warm front moved in along with a high-pressure Arctic cold front. "City politicians and senior staff hunkered down at City Hall, which had power throughout the emergency, to plan how to cope with the storm and its devastating effects.There was a designated building owned by the federal government where Kingston officials were to go during an emergency but it turned out the building was inadequate so Bennett ordered the emergency centre to be City Hall. “Some of … Pedestrians make their way past broken branches as clean-up operations begin in Montreal following an ice storm in 1998.