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Military deployed to aid in recovery

At least three dead and thousands without power following storm

OMAR MOSLEH STAFF REPORTER NICHOLAS KEUNG IMMIGRATION REPORTER

At least three Canadians are dead and thousands of people remain without power as Ottawa and Atlantic Canadian governments continue their disaster relief and recovery efforts in the regions pummelled by post-tropical storm Fiona over the weekend.

The federal government is deploying a total of 400 Canadian Armed Forces personnel to New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to help local crews in clearing debris and downed trees and rebuilding electricity infrastructure, roads and bridges.

HMCS Margaret Brooke, an offshore patrol vessel for the Royal Canadian Navy, has also left St. John’s to start conducting wellness checks in four communities on Newfoundland’s south coast as soon as Tuesday.

“One thing that’s been consistent in my calls to premiers, mayors and MPs is that Canadians are stepping up for each other and helping their communities get through this tough time,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters during an update on the storm response efforts Monday.

“I want all people in the Atlantic Provinces and eastern Quebec to know that we are here for you.”

As of Monday, there have been three confirmed deaths in connection with the storm, including a 73year-old woman swept out to sea in Port aux Basques, Nfld.; an 81-yearold man who went missing from his home in Lower Prospect, N.S.; and a person in P.E.I. whose death was believed to be related to generator issues.

Provincial officials said the top priorities now are the removal of fallen trees and debris, in order to expedite restoring power.

“The devastation that we had seen in Glace Bay and the other communities is unimaginable. The stress of the question on everyone’s mind of ‘when is our power coming back?’ was palpable on the voices and the eyes of everyone we met along the way,” said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. “Nova Scotians need help. They need it now more than ever.”

In his province with a population just short of a million, 181,000 residents are still without power. School will be cancelled on Tuesday, with classes at the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education shut down till the end of the week.

It’s too early to estimate the financial cost of damage caused by Fiona, but Nova Scotia has rolled out more than $40 million in assistance to the affected communities, from providing grocery-store cards to emergency income support to hotel rooms for sheltering displaced residents.

“I think what would be fair to say is that the breadth of this storm, the damage of the storm is certainly a historical storm across the province. So our expectation is that (in terms of ) the cost of previous storms, this will be more,” said Houston.

In Port aux Basques, a small town in one of Newfoundland’s hardesthit areas, there are at least 80 displaced homes, with that number expected to rise, said Premier Andrew Furey.

Although power had been restored to everyone in the province by Monday evening, Furey said officials are conducting a needs assessment and inventory of all affected properties. The number of uninhabitable homes, he added, is expected to rise as structural damage and blows to sewer and water systems are assessed.

Furey said the province plans to announce a financial package in the coming days to compensate people for property losses, including for people whose property was uninsured.

The premier said that while many displaced Port aux Basques residents were able to find shelter with family or friends, that situation will change in the coming weeks and months.

“Being a small community, people have friends and family. My issue, I guess, going forward is that that only lasts so long. We need to find solutions for the next number of months,” said Andrew Parsons, Newfoundland’s minister of industry, energy and technology.

P.E.I.’s restoration efforts have been stymied by “thousands” of fallen trees, which have affected about 300 power lines, said Kim Griffin with Maritime Electric, the province’s electrical utility.

That has resulted in huge swaths of the province losing power. As of Monday afternoon, the company said it had restored power to nearly 10,000 customers.

There were about 90 crews on the road in P.E.I. and the company said preliminary results from a helicopter assessment have found “no major issues” with infrastructure, unlike what the province saw inflicted by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

The main challenge is restoring power and in some cases, being able to access the power lines. Maritime Electric is pleading with residents not to leave home unless it’s for essential goods such as food or fuel.

“Some of these areas are really taking us an enormous amount of time either to get to, or (to repair) once we get on site … our crews are pleading with you to help us so we can improve our restoration efforts,” Griffin said.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King said at least six schools have been affected by the damage, while hospitals and provincial offices seem to have stood up well. There are 35 grocery stores that remain open across the province and more than 35 stations with fuel.

Some of the province’s industries that have been hit hard include mussel and oyster farms, lobster traps and soybean, corn and apple farms.

“It’s safe to say that obviously some people along the north shore didn’t only get hit by (former) Hurricane Fiona, they got hit by the storm surge as well,” said King, adding that the cleanup effort could take “weeks and months.”

In New Brunswick, about 4,600 customers were still without power on Monday evening and three warming centres were staying open, though many roads that were closed are now accessible. However, the cleanup for homeowners, especially those who may have sustained flood damage, is just beginning.

Officials said there are “reliable indications” that the disaster financial-assistance needs for the province will exceed the $35 million paid out for hurricane Dorian in 2019.

NEWS

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2022-09-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

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