Iqaluit blizzard shuts services, closes schools
Emergency services are only responding to critical calls when it’s safe to do so
A blizzard is disrupting power and services across Iqaluit Thursday and the city is asking residents to prepare for extended disruptions.
In a news release at about 6:40 a.m. Thursday the City of Iqaluit said all city services will be closed until further notice, including water delivery, sewer and garbage services.
Nakasuk School, Joamie School, Aqsarniit School and Inukshuk Highschool all closed on Thursday morning due to the weather conditions, according to the Iqaluit District Education Authority's Facebook page. At 11:30 a.m. the district confirmed the schools would be closed for the remainder of the day.
Government of Nunavut offices in Iqaluit are also closed.
The Qulliq Energy Corporation said the outage was affecting the entire community and that operators were working to restore power as quickly as possible. By early afternoon, the corporation said that power had been restored to downtown customers.
Road-clearing crews have been pulled from the roads for their safety and emergency services are only responding to critical calls when it's safe to do so.
Environment Canada writes that the blizzard is expected to continue until Thursday afternoon with winds in Iqaluit blowing at about 50 kilometres per hour and gusting to 70 km/h.
Residents are asked to stay off the roads and seek shelter.