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. An additional 108 millimetres fell on Cornwall, and 73 millimetres hit Kingston.

Farmers lost livestock and faced thousands of dollars in damage to barns and other infrastructure. Countless drivers ended up ditches because of slippery roads.

Families went days, even weeks and months, without electricity.

The storm was also deadly: 35 people died, according to Public Safety Canada's final accounting of the crisis. Morethan 900 were injured, and thousands more had to be evacuated from their homes.

A worker clears layers of ice off the roof of the former Langevin Block building in Ottawa during the 1998 ice storm. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

'We were there for each other'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement Thursday to mark the day freezing rain began to fall in 1998.

"The storm paralyzed eastern Canada, as day-to-day routines became nearly impossible. Without electricity, heat, food, and water, people were forced out of their homes and businesses could not stay open. The freezing rain made all forms of transportation treacherous. Impassable roads hindered basic services and made it difficult for emergency vehicles to help those most in need," the statement reads.

"Meanwhile, Canadians welcomed neighbours, friends, and family into