Over 280,000 Maritimers still without power in Fiona's wake
Strong winds and heavy rainfall from Fiona left nearly 500,000 Maritimers without power at the peak of outages.
The powerful post-tropical storm, which saw wind gusts as high as 141 kilometres per hour in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and estimates of more than 200 millimetres of rain, continued to make its way through the Atlantic region Saturday afternoon into the evening.
NOVA SCOTIA
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, 194,086 customers were without power in Nova Scotia.
Matt Drover, storm lead for Nova Scotia Power (NSP), says crews have been able to survey the damage after wind levels prevented them from doing so for much of Saturday.
“This is a big day for us,” said Drover during a news conference Sunday. “We are seeing extensive damage, in the eastern part of the province, specifically Cape Breton, where hundreds of poles have come down as trees have toppled over them from hurricane-force winds.”
He says NSP will start forming a plan on overall power restoration once the scope of the damage is better understood.
Drover says NSP has drones and helicopters in the air Sunday to determine the extent of the damage.
More than 1,000 utility crew members are on the ground in Nova Scotia Sunday, with more coming from Ontario, other Maritime provinces and the United States, says Drover.
He says the biggest challenge preventing power from getting back online in some areas is the crews’ ability to get there.
“So, we are working really closely with EMO on that, clearing roads, making sure we have access to all of those hard-to-reach areas, getting crews in there to repair those poles,” said Drover. “We had whole streets where trees have come down and broken almost every pole along that street.”
Drover asks anyone in Nova Scotia who is without power and has not seen their area on the NSP outage map to call the utility and report the outage.
NEW BRUNSWICK
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, 9,430 customers in New Brunswick were without power.
In an interview with CTV Atlantic, an NB Power representative noted that estimated restoration times are currently extending into Sunday evening.
“Outages continue to be reported as the weather system makes its way through New Brunswick, so we’re expecting more outages throughout the day,” the rep said, adding that while crews are active in each district, the southeast of the province is the hardest hit.
According to NB Power, more than 79,000 customers in the province have lost power since storm conditions began Friday night.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, 80,794 customers were without power on Prince Edward Island.
In an update from P.E.I.’s EMO on Saturday afternoon, officials noted the recovery response will be in the “multi-millions.”
“In the past 12 hours, our province has experienced historic weather conditions caused by Hurricane Fiona,” Premier Dennis King said. “It’s been, to state the obvious, quite a day. And while we hope the worst is behind us, we know as of yet, the storm is not over.”
Officials say there have been no reports of significant injuries or deaths related to the storm.
Fiona brought winds over 170 km/h and storm surge over two metres to Prince Edward Island, resulting in downed power lines and flooding.
“By early accounts, the devastation looks to be beyond anything we have witnessed before in Prince Edward Island,” King said, adding that the province’s road to recovery will be “weeks or longer.”
Around 7 p.m. on Saturday, Charlottetown Police tweeted a warning about travelling on the roads, writing, "the amount of people on the roads is absurd."
"If you are out for reasons other than an emergency or getting to your job as an essential worker, you are impeding clean-up and emergency vehicles getting through," they added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.