In Port aux Basques, N.L., residents reeling after Fiona destroys dozens of homes
Jocelyn Gillam knows she's lucky to be alive after coming face-to-face with the post-tropical storm that destroyed part of her southwestern Newfoundland town and nearly swept her away in a surge of rushing water.
Gillam was standing near her home in Port aux Basques on Saturday morning when a storm surge hit, sweeping her off her feet and dragging her underneath a Jeep as she clung to the undercarriage for dear life.
The 61-year-old said she'd been chatting with family and neighbours when she turned her head and "saw Fiona coming."
"It was brown, it was white, it was angry," she said in a phone interview. "You could see she was coming with a vengeance."
Post-tropical storm Fiona carved a path of devastation across parts of Atlantic Canada, leaving behind smashed homes, roads strewn with debris and hundreds of thousands of people without power.
But few places have been hit as hard as the 4,000-person community of Port aux Basques, where dozens of homes were destroyed and a 73-year-old woman died after being swept out to sea when a storm surge flooded her home.
Gillam remembers feeling the water rising as she struggled to hold on to the Jeep and her brother-in-law fought against the current to reach her.
"He came up but he couldn't find me because there was so much water," she said. "I was down under the water so, so much."
She said her brother-in-law called for help, and he and some neighbours were able to grab her when the water began to subside.
Gillam escaped with only a banged-up knee, and memories she says will live with her "forever and a day."
"Last night I didn't sleep a wink because every time I turn over, I could see the waves and then I could taste the water and I could smell it in my nose," she said. However, she says she's on the mend and feels lucky that her home wasn't damaged.
Many in her town weren't as lucky.
On Monday, residents escorted by provincial response crews sorted through piles of debris in the pouring rain to salvage what they could from what remained of their homes.
One house perched on the edge of the rocks was missing an entire wall, its kitchen table and cupboard fully exposed on the sagging wood floor. About 30 metres away, another house was almost flattened, its roof and side wall missing. Nearby, a stuffed animal and blanket with Pixar "Cars" characters lay under splintered wood.
Premier Andrew Furey visited Port aux Basques and nearby communities Monday and compared the devastation in southwest Newfoundland to disaster zones where he has worked as a medical doctor.
As of Monday afternoon, he said, at least 80 homes were destroyed or structurally damaged in Port aux Basques alone -- but the number could rise as officials continue to take stock of the damage.
"For every roof that's floating in the ocean, there's a family, there are stories and there are memories attached to that piece of infrastructure, and that's what's heartbreaking," he told reporters.
He said officials were still working with the federal government about where to deploy Armed Forces members and other federal aid that has been offered.
Andrew Parsons, the provincial legislature member for Burgeo-La Poile, told the briefing that the immediate focus of relief efforts is ensuring people have shelter, food and clothes. While an emergency shelter was made available, he said all those who have been displaced are staying in hotels or with family.
The longer rebuilding effort will take more time, and will involve co-ordination and aid from the federal government. "We don't have all the answers right now, but we'll get there, and we'll have everybody's back throughout this entire ordeal," he said.
Furey said the government would be announcing a financial support package in the coming days that will help those whose insurance won't cover the damage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2022.
-- With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.