Maritimers reflect on past storms as they keep eye on Hurricane Beryl

As Hurricane Beryl tears through the Caribbean, many Nova Scotians are reminded of the devastation left by previous storms in the Maritimes.

“Hit me with a hell of a whack,” said Clarence Dawe as he thinks back to the damage to his property and home in Glace Bay, N.S.

The 79-year old was among the hardest hit by post-tropical storm Fiona two years ago, enduring 28 days without power.

Dawe managed to rebuild with the help of his community, but its impact remains.

“Eight humongous trees down my property. Three were in my roof, the rest were in my yard,” he said.

His property looks a little different now. The trees he loved, which towered around his home, are no longer there. He remains concerned about what can happen if another hurricane makes its way to the region.

“How can you prepare for a hurricane?” said Dawe. “I don’t have to worry about trees, but I’m still concerned about hurricanes coming this way.”

Some businesses in Nova Scotia, like the Glenghorm Beach Resort in Ingonish, are also still recovering. Kathy Graham Mackinnon, manager of the resort, said she hopes the Maritimes does not receive a severe storm.

“If we get hit by another hurricane here, we are not going to be able to survive it,” she said.

Hurricane Beryl is wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, flattening homes and killing at least six people so far.

“We have very warm waters in some cases. Some record-setting warm temperatures as far as surface waters go, and that’s fuel for these types of storms and we also have a very favourable wind environment being created over the Atlantic this year to allow these hurricanes to organize and gain strength,” said CTV News Atlantic Chief Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.

While it’s difficult to predict, Chris Fogarty, head of the Hurricane Centre, said it is likely the region will see more storms.

“It’s about a 50 per cent higher [chance] this year than normal, so we do know that we do expect that active season to unfold here eventually as well,” he said.

However, having more storms does not mean they will all be severe.

“It doesn’t matter how many storms develop in the hurricane season. It’s all about that one storm that could impact you. If they all hold offshore or pass by Atlantic Canada without having a direct impact,” said Mitchell. “When we had Fiona it wasn’t a particularly active hurricane season, but that storm has major impacts on the region because it was the one that happened to move directly through.”