Most P.E.I. residents without power two days after Fiona
Tens of thousands of Islanders are still without power two days after Fiona battered Prince Edward Island.
At last count, about 75,000 homes and businesses are without electricity. To put that in perspective, there’s only about 160,000 people living on P.E.I.
Ten thousand customers have had power restored since the height of the storm, including 4,500 customers Monday morning. However, the focus remains on critical areas.
“The assessments are still ongoing, and will go into the days, but certainly we’re prioritizing the needs of our critical infrastructure sites,” said Tanya Mullally, PEI Emergency Measures Organization Director. “Such as hospitals, schools, grocery stores, gas stations, to make sure that they’re powered up.”
There are 89 crews in the field. That number is expected to grow to 107 by Wednesday.
According to Maritime Electric spokesperson Kim Griffin, this is the biggest restoration effort in the history of the utility, worse than even Hurricane Juan.
“But the sheer devastation on Prince Edward Island, I’m not sure if others can match that, with all due respect, said Griffin. “I think that the significant amount of damage that we’ve had across the province is the worst storm I’ve ever seen.”
A small silver lining, major infrastructure, like transmission lines and substations, seem to have fared better than in Dorian.
However, there is still no timeline on when regular residential neighbourhoods will see power return.
“The sheer magnitude of the trees that are down on our lines, our crews are sometimes having problems just trying to access the different sites as it is,” said Griffin.
Comfort centres are open across province. The weather is relatively mild, so most people are using the centres to recharge devices and connect to Wi-Fi.
“The top priority right now is getting the lights back on,” said Darlene Compton, P.E.I. Public Safety Minister. “That’s the backbone of when we can make significant progress in getting a province back on its feet.”
Power outages are now the biggest drivers of fuel shortages on the island. Though power was returned to a major fuel depot in Charlottetown Sunday, many gas stations are still without power, so there just aren’t enough places to get fuel.
Along with those power outages come problems with cell service and with data coverage. Maritime Electric says there’s a specific plan to focus on restoring power to cell towers to get cell coverage and data coverage back up as soon as possible.
Cell coverage on the island is still spotty, but there is a noticeable difference from Sunday to Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
Pastrnak scores winner, Bruins down Leafs 2-1 in overtime in Game 7
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
King Charles III’s openness about cancer has helped him connect with people in year after coronation
King Charles III's decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bombarded with spam texts? Stats show the problem is getting worse in Canada
In particular, messages that involve phishing — an attack where a scammer tries to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or sharing sensitive information — are on the rise.
The American paradox of protest: Celebrated and condemned, welcomed and muzzled
Americans cherish the right to assemble, to speak out, to petition for the redress of grievances. It's enshrined in the first of the constitutional amendments. They laud social actions of the past and recognize the advances toward equality that previous generations made, often at risk of life and limb. But those same activities can produce anger and outright opposition when life's routines are interrupted, and wariness that those speaking out are outsiders looking to sow chaos and influence impressionable minds.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
A driver dies after crashing into a security barrier around the White House complex, authorities say
A driver died after a vehicle crashed into an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, and the incident late Saturday was being investigated as a traffic crash, police said. U.S. President Joe Biden was spending the weekend in Delaware, and the Secret Service said there was no threat to the White House.
Warren Buffett says AI may be better for scammers than society. And he's seen how
Warren Buffett cautioned the tens of thousands of shareholders who packed an arena for his annual meeting that artificial intelligence scams could become "the growth industry of all time."