Residents of Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec are coming to terms with the full scope of the damage left behind after post-tropical storm Fiona tore through the region over the weekend as one of the strongest storms CanadaB次元官网网址檚 East Coast has ever faced.
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are being deployed to help with recovery efforts, with federal Defence Minister Anita Anand saying Sunday that about 100 troops a piece were either in place or en route to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. to provide assistance with the cleanup effort.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said the immediate need is to provide food and shelter for those displaced by the storm, which is why the federal government is matching donations to the Canadian Red Cross.
However, he added that Ottawa will work with provinces to determine what is needed for recovery from a financial perspective, especially for Canadians who have lost everything. He said the first priority is the restoration of power and utilities, as well as clearing roadways to get essential supplies to those who need them.
At FionaB次元官网网址檚 peak on Saturday, more than 500,000 customers across Atlantic Canada were without power, but by early Monday morning that number had been lowered to less than 300,000, with the vast majority in Nova Scotia. But even as crews workaround the clock to repair downed lines, some utility companies warned it could be days before the power is back on for everyone.
The cause of death of a person on P.E.I. who may be the stormB次元官网网址檚 second fatality has yet to be determined, but the IslandB次元官网网址檚 acting director of public safety told a news conference that preliminary findings pointed towards B次元官网网址済enerator use.B次元官网网址� No further details were provided.
Authorities in western Newfoundland confirmed FionaB次元官网网址檚 first Canadian fatality on Sunday.
As Fiona descended on Port aux Basques on Saturday, churning out 130-kilometre-per-hour wind gusts, police received reports that two women had been pulled into the ocean as their homes collapsed under the weight of an invading surge. One woman was rescued by local residents, but RCMP confirmed on Sunday that the second woman had died after being swept out to sea.
Mounties said the 73-year-old womanB次元官网网址檚 body was recovered from the water more than 24 hours after a massive wave struck her home, tearing away part of the basement. Her name was not immediately released.
B次元官网网址淩CMP NL offers deepest condolences to the family and friends of the missing woman and thanks all who assisted in the search and recovery,B次元官网网址� police said in a statement.
Photos posted Sunday from Port aux Basques showed homes and outbuildings smashed or submerged on the shoreline, the result of a storm surge that raised water levels to a record high and swamped a residential neighbourhood on Saturday around 10 a.m.
Mayor Brian Button said the damage to the town of 4,000 was worse than first thought.
B次元官网网址淭he weather may have cleared, but the situation has not cleared at all,B次元官网网址� he said via Facebook. B次元官网网址淭his is not a, B次元官网网址極ne day, we can all go back to normal.B次元官网网址� Unfortunately, this is going to take days, could take weeks, could take months in some places.B次元官网网址�
By late Sunday afternoon, about 340,000 residents of Atlantic Canada had spent their second day without electricity.
In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston surveyed some of the hardest hit areas of Cape Breton, where FionaB次元官网网址檚 wrath left many homes badly damaged. Arriving in Glace Bay aboard a helicopter, Houston spoke outside a car wash that had collapsed onto a nearby house.
B次元官网网址淲e know there are a lot of people B次元官网网址� that donB次元官网网址檛 have any place to go,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淛ust driving around and seeing the damage, itB次元官网网址檚 difficult to see.B次元官网网址�
Amanda McDougall, mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, said almost 200 local residents were forced to leave their homes. She confirmed that the Red Cross was setting up food trucks to help those running out of supplies.
Despite downed trees, washed-out roads and widespread power outages, some Cape Breton residents decided to carry on with milestone events on Sunday.
Samantha Murphy, 35, said she was going to get married at a church in downtown Sydney, followed by a reception catered by someone with a generator.
Sitting in a hotel lobby with three bridesmaids, she wrapped floral arrangements and waited for her hairdresser to arrive while musing on the bright side of the extended blackout.
B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 going to be more romantic with candlelight,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview.
In Reserve Mines, about 15 kilometres east of Sydney, Darren MacKinnon was cutting up fallen trees, some of which had landed on nearby homes.
B次元官网网址淕lace Bay and Reserve Mines look like a war zone,B次元官网网址� he said of the two Cape Breton communities. B次元官网网址淗ouses with roofs ripped off, trees down B次元官网网址�. I know Cape Bretoners will help out their friends and family as much as they can.B次元官网网址�
Neighbour Reggie Boutilier lost part of his roof and his shed was torn apart.
B次元官网网址淭he wind was very high coming through here,B次元官网网址� the 67-year-old tech worker said as he prepared to install some plastic sheathing. B次元官网网址淚t was just catching the peak of the house all night. The force was incredible.B次元官网网址�
On the north shore of Prince Edward Island, another area ravaged by Fiona, lobster buyer Leigh Misener pointed to what was once his office on the Covehead Wharf.
On Sunday morning, it lay upside down about three kilometres away on a front lawn.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 our building,B次元官网网址� Misener said with a laugh. B次元官网网址淪top by anytime.B次元官网网址�
Despite his wry humour, he said it was heartbreaking to see the destruction. The wharf is now an ugly vision of smashed buildings and upturned soil, as if an earthquake shook the place.
B次元官网网址淭he whole wharfB次元官网网址檚 gone,B次元官网网址� Misener said. B次元官网网址淓veryoneB次元官网网址檚 going to hurt from it.B次元官网网址�
Judy Profitt, who lives a few kilometres away on Brackley Beach, pointed to the Covehead Bridge and a now altered landmark B次元官网网址� a small dune that stands next to the bridge.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 my favorite dune, but itB次元官网网址檚 just been sheared off,B次元官网网址� Profitt said, her voice breaking with emotion. B次元官网网址淚 had taken a picture of that dune. After my husband died, (it was) laser-etched on his tombstone. To look at that dune now, itB次元官网网址檚 just such a sad sight.B次元官网网址�
In the provincial capital of Charlottetown, Premier Dennis King said Ottawa had agreed to send 100 soldiers to help clean up the Island.
B次元官网网址淭he magnitude and the severity of the damage is beyond anything that weB次元官网网址檝e seen in our provinceB次元官网网址檚 history,B次元官网网址� he told an online briefing Sunday, adding all Island schools would be closed Monday. B次元官网网址淓fforts have already begun to clean up, but this will take a herculean effort by thousands of people.B次元官网网址�
Tanya Mullally, the IslandB次元官网网址檚 acting director of public safety, told the news conference that the cause of a recent death had yet to be determined, but preliminary findings pointed towards B次元官网网址済enerator use.B次元官网网址� She did not provide details.
The Island was not the only province poised to receive military assistance with the clean-up effort. Federal Defence Minister Anita Anand said Sunday that about 100 troops a piece were either in place or en route to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and P.E.I.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair added that Ottawa will work with provinces to determine what is needed for recovery from a financial perspective, especially for Canadians who have lost everything. But he said the immediate need is to provide food and shelter, which is why the federal government is matching donations to the Canadian Red Cross.
B次元官网网址淥ur first priority right now, of course, is the restoration of power and utilities and to open up those roadways so that we can get those essential supplies to the people that are going to need them,B次元官网网址� he said.
In eastern Quebec, officials were heading to the storm-battered island chain of 脦les-de-la-Madeleine, where high winds and storm surges caused flooding and road closures.
Provincial Public Security Minister Genevi猫ve Guilbault confirmed that 30 and 40 people were forced to leave their homes, but no one was hurt.
In Ottawa, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he has been in touch with the heads of Bell, Rogers, Eastlink and Xplornet to ensure they were working to restore disrupted phone and internet services.
In Halifax, a director with Nova ScotiaB次元官网网址檚 Emergency Management Office, Jason Mew, told a news conference that Nova Scotians should B次元官网网址渉unker down,B次元官网网址� keep roads clear and limit gas consumption to only what they need.
The province confirmed that schools in several regions would be closed Monday, and a statement from the health authority asked those who can wait for care to delay visits to busy emergency departments.
Bill Lawlor, a director with the Canadian Red Cross, said 266 people in Nova Scotia have registered for assistance from the organization and 176 had stayed in shelters.
B次元官网网址擬ichael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
