Fiona: Homes washed into the sea and thousands without power as storm batters Canada
Post-tropical storm Fiona battered eastern Canada with hurricane-strength winds, torrential rains and huge waves which swept away houses and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Canadian troops have been mobilised to assist recovery efforts after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to provide help to those affected.
"I know this is an extremely difficult time for many people who have seen their house, their property destroyed. But I also know that these people know they are not alone and that we will be here for them", he said.
Mike Savage, mayor of Halifax, said the roof of an apartment building collapsed in Nova Scotia's biggest city, and officials had moved 100 people to an evacuation centre. He said no one was seriously hurt.
Provincial officials said other apartment buildings sustained significant damage.
Fiona was blamed for at least five deaths in the Caribbean, but there was no confirmation of any fatalities or serious injuries in Canada. Police said a woman who might have been swept away was listed as missing in the town of Channel-Port Aux Basques on the southern coast of Newfoundland.
Raging surf pounded Port Aux Basques, and entire structures were washed into the sea.
“I’m seeing homes in the ocean. I’m seeing rubble floating all over the place. It’s complete and utter destruction. There’s an apartment that is gone,” René J. Roy, chief editor at Wreckhouse Press and a resident of the town, said.
Roy estimated between eight to 12 houses and buildings had washed into the sea. “It’s quite terrifying,” he said.
More than 415,000 Nova Scotia Power customers — about 80% of the province of almost 1 million people — were affected by outages Saturday.
Over 82,000 customers in the province of Prince Edward Island, about
Read more on euronews.com
