Six months after Fiona, repair work continues in Cape Breton
Six months after post-tropical storm Fiona hit the Martimes, many people are still trying to recover from its devastating impacts.
“We are very busy. We have five crews out there right now working on five different projects,” said Roman Heuft, the Cape Breton Response Coordinator for the Mennonite Disaster Service.
Heuft says their work started soon after the storm by helping with tree cutting and replacing damaged roofs. Their focus has now shifted to renovations inside.
“We currently have 18 projects on the board and we're expecting to triple that before we're done,” said Heuft.
A request for help needs to go through United Way Cape Breton, who then transfers the request to the Mennonites.
Funding comes from donations made to the Christian group, which consists of volunteers from across Canada.
“I was very, very happy to hear that they were coming back, and when they arrived, we had a waitlist of things for them to do,” said Lynne McCarron, United Way Cape Breton Executive Director.
McCarron says she didn't have a referral process for people calling looking for help because of a lack of contractors able to do the work in the area.
She says many people are still backed up with insurance claims and, without the Mennonites, they'd be in a dire situation.
“When those calls were coming in and I don't have a place to send them, it was a little hard to handle,” said McCarron.
Heuft says their group is in Cape Breton with a national response this time around, which means more equipment and more workers.
“We decided that there is sufficient meaningful work to allow volunteers to come and serve here in Cape Breton,” said Heuft.
Heuft says the group is prepared to stay in Cape Breton until the end of October.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.