Only rare satellite telephones were able to connect Iles-de-la-Madeleine and its 13,000 residents with the mainland after two fiber optic sea cables were severed, Quebec emergency services said.

There were major power outages and the local airport control tower had broken down, leading to the call for army help.

"It's the type of request that one makes when provincial government capacity is exceeded," Quebec's Minister of Public Security Genevieve Guilbault told reporters.

On Twitter she added that a Canadian military plane would be ready to help on Friday morning.

Almost 2,000 of 7,000 homes on the islands -- located north of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia provinces -- lost power in the winds that reached 130 kilometers per hour (81 miles per hour), the Hydro-Quebec power company said.

Electrical and other specialist repair teams were expected to have arrived with the military by Friday.