Nearly one week after Fiona, the clean-up continues in Cape Breton
Major clean-up efforts continue in Cape Breton on Friday as many on the island remain in the dark.
Some residents have been left in limbo with damages adding up and not enough help.
Just ask Johnny Parsons. Looking over the damage done to his Glace Bay home, what’s left of his roof now sits in his neighbour’s yard on the next street over.
“My whole upstairs is gone,” he tells CTV Atlantic. “It’s all rotted off, soaking wet. My beds are all gone. I’m now sleeping at my sister-in-law’s place.”
Parsons says he’s been left in limbo with no insurance. He’s not sure what his next move will be.
“[Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau was in my house and he said it will be looked after,” he said. “Whether that happens, I don’t know.”
Across town, many people are about to go into their second week without power.
Sheri Burns is getting married next weekend and has family traveling to Nova Scotia in just a few days.
“To get everything ready in the house, food-wise -- we lost everything in our freezers -- to get the house ready itself to host company, it’s kind of impossible,” she said.
At a nearby local restaurant, the power might be out but inside, staff are powering through to prepare hot meals.
“We’re preparing grilled haddock with mashed potatoes, carrots and peas for the Glace Bay Miners Forum,” said restaurant owner Frankie Martin.
The forum has now been turned into a comfort centre for many in Glace Bay to get a hot meal and charge devices.
Martin has been providing food -- more than 1,300 dinners have been delivered -- even though his family business has been closed because of Fiona.
“It’s just a way to give back to Glace Bay because they have supported us for the last 18 years,” Martin said.
Back at Parson’s property, he’s worried he will lose his home.
“I love it here,” he said. “I’m here 40-some years now. I got an ocean-view, but I’m on pension now and I can’t afford it. I need help, a lot of help.”
Nova Scotia Power says 63 per cent of customers in Cape Breton have been reconnected. But many on the island will remain without power Friday evening, with restoration times for some not until next week.
Correction
This article has been edited to correct the term “left in limbo,” used in the second paragraph.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.