Some emergency centres to become 'one-stop shops' for storm info

A handful of emergency centres opened in Ottawa after last Saturday's devastating derechowill convert Monday into"one-stop shops" for information about getting byin the storm's aftermath, the city says.

The four centres, which will be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., are:

• CARDELREC Recreation Complex Goulbournat 1500 Shea Rd.
• Howard Darwin Centennial Arenaat 1765 Merivale Rd.
• Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centreat 3320 Paul Anka Dr.
• Franois Dupuis Recreation Centreat 2263 Portobello Blvd.

All four locations will continue to offer showers, washrooms and charging stations for phones and other electronic devices.

However, they'll also haveinformation about things like insurance, housing and financial services, building and demolition permits, public health, and psychological and social support, the City of Ottawa said in a Sunday press release.

Representatives from severalcity and partner agencies will be present at the sites, including Ottawa Public Health, the Canadian Red Cross and the city's bylaw department.

Food will be available at the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre and the Franois Dupuis Recreation Centre until at least Tuesday evening, the city said.

Change comes as more people get power back

The city had been operating 20 recreational facilities, community centres and other municipal buildings as emergency respite centres in the wake of the fatal May 21 storm.

Even with many of those facilities open Monday for normal programming, the city saidresidents can still visit them to charge devices and use washrooms and showers.

The change comes as more and more residents are getting reconnected to the city's power grid.

As of Sunday afternoon, Hydro Ottawa was reporting it had brought the number of customers without power to just under 10,000.