It will take Canada several months to restore critical infrastructure after powerful Storm Fiona left an “unprecedented” trail of destruction, officials said on Sunday, as teams fanned out to five provinces to restore power and clean up fallen trees and debris.
“It’s like a complete war zone,” said Brian Button, mayor of Port aux Basques, one of the hardest-hit towns on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland with a population of just over 4,000. . More than 20 homes were destroyed and the cost of damage “is in the millions (of dollars) here now,” Button said in an interview with Reuters.
No deaths have been confirmed so far, but Newfoundland police are looking for a 73-year-old woman they suspect was swept away at sea.
“The woman was last seen inside (her) residence moments before a wave hit the house, ripping out part of the basement. She has not been seen since,” police said in a statement.
Hundreds of thousands of residents in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Quebec and New Brunswick were left without power Sunday. Blair said hundreds of utility crews have already been deployed to restore power.
“At the end of the day, Fiona will prove to have caused the most damage of any storm we’ve seen,” Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston told CBC.
Officials warned on Saturday that in some cases it could take weeks before essential services can be fully restored.
Trees were downed, utility poles snapped in half, roofs ripped from buildings and homes swept away after Fiona made landfall in eastern Nova Scotia around 3 a.m. Saturday, officials said.
When Fiona made landfall near Whitehead, it was a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds of 90 mph, officials said.
“It’s shocking the damage we’re seeing,” Houston said Saturday.
A storm surge of over 6 feet hit Prince Edward Island. The damage is likely the worst ever seen in the province, and recovery will take weeks or more, said Dennis King, premier of Prince Edward Island.
No deaths associated with the storm had been reported as of Saturday afternoon.
Canada’s federal government sent the armed forces on Sunday to help clean up fallen trees and debris, which in turn will pave the way for crews to restore power, Bill Blair, Minister for Civil Protection, told Reuters.
The province of Nova Scotia asked troops and machinery to clean up the debris on Saturday, “and we said yes, and so they’re deployed today,” Blair said. Other provinces are also in talks about federal aid, Blair said.
The Canadian Hurricane Center has rated Fiona as the lowest pressure storm on record in Canada. In 2019, Dorian hit the area around Halifax, Nova Scotia, blowing up a construction crane and knocking out power. Fiona, on the other hand, appears to have caused major damage in at least five provinces.
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Nova Scotia Health said emergency departments across the province were busy and asked people to wait for care if possible rather than going to the emergency room, adding that people with urgent medical needs should call 911. Nova Scotians on home oxygen or who need electricity for medical devices should go to comfort centers in the event of a power outage rather than to the wards. emergency, the health agency said.
Nova Scotia officials also announced on Sunday that they had canceled public school classes Monday at hundreds of schools across the province due to power outages, unsafe road conditions and a recommendation from the Provincial Office. emergency management, adding that more updates would be forthcoming.
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg said some would be without power for “several days.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has canceled plans to attend a state funeral in Japan for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated July 8. He said the storm had a “terrible impact”.
“We are seeing devastating images coming out of Port aux Basques,” Trudeau said. “PEI. (Prince Edward Island) suffered storm damage the likes of which they had never seen. Cape Breton is also hard hit, as is Quebec.
He said the country’s armed forces would be deployed to help in the aftermath and the federal government would be ready to help.
Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Saturday that troops would help remove fallen trees and other debris, restore transport links and do whatever else is necessary for as long as necessary. She did not specify how many soldiers would be deployed.
In Port aux Basques, on Newfoundland’s southwest coast, evacuations were ordered and Mayor Brian Button said “utter devastation” was occurring, CBC reported.
News agency video showed homes being swept away. Phil Boyles fled because of the storm surge. “I took out everything I could try to keep, and now it looks like I can’t even come back,” he said, according to CBC.
Fiona was a Category 4 hurricane as it approached Bermuda.
It caused major damage in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic earlier this week when it was a Category 1 storm. Fifteen deaths in Puerto Rico and two deaths in the Dominican Republic have been linked to the storm, officials said.
The hurricane was expected to become a historic weather event for eastern Canada.
In Prince Edward Island, King, the premier, said Saturday the damage was likely the worst the province has ever seen.
“It was billed as one of the strongest storms to ever hit our province, and by all accounts, Hurricane Fiona lived up to that billing,” he said.
He was grateful there were no reports of serious injuries or worse, but said “our road to recovery will take weeks or more”.