White sand dunes, gem of P.E.I.'s central coast, severely damaged in Fiona
Post-tropical storm Fiona changed the coastline of Prince Edward Island forever, however nowhere is more obvious than the P.E.I. National Park on the island’s north shore.
The storm destroyed entire swaths of it, and with recovery efforts now underway, it’s slow going as crews deal with the devastation.
Across the park, between 10 and 30 feet of iconic shoreline is gone.
Huge dunes and white sand beaches -- a stark contrast from P.E.I.’s normally red soil -- disappeared into the sea.
There had been significant efforts to preserve the dunes in recent years, but now many are gone.
“We don’t necessarily have a full picture of what that means for these ecosystems,” said James Eastham, Parks Canada Information Officer. “That’s one of the questions that our park ecologists here will be studying over the weeks, months, and years ahead.”
The destruction extends beyond the beach. There’s been significant damage to the trees, many of which were knocked down blocking roads, slowing assessment and cleanup efforts.
“The complexity of the tree removals, and how intricate the trees were, the quantity of them, and all the attention and compression forces that are at play,” said Parks Canada Safety Officer Sebastien Marcoux.
Eleven national crew and 34 local staff, along with specialized contractors to operate heavy equipment, are working to untangle the mess and clear debris.
“We don’t see the scale of this many downed trees, but we definitely see many strong winds that will pile trees like that in a smaller scale,” said Marcoux.
The park has been closed because of Fiona and there’s no timeline yet as to when it can reopen.
“Erosion at Cavendish, and blown down trees at Stanhope,” said Eastham. “A lot of the shoreline will look quite different when visitors return.”
The devastation is clear, but staff don’t yet have enough information to compare this to previous storms. They say that work is ongoing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
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.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
There's progress reported in Gaza truce talks, but Israel downplays chances of ending war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in cease-fire talks with Israel, though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in Gaza.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.