The Canadian Armed Forces will assist PEI with cleanup efforts as the impact of Post-Tropical Storm Fiona on the island continues to be assessed.
Premier Dennis King said at a briefing Sunday afternoon that 100 military personnel would arrive in the evening to help the province’s recovery efforts after the federal government approved a request for aid sent on Saturday.
Military personnel are expected to be on the ground assisting provincial crews Monday morning.
Fiona hit PEI early Saturday morning, bringing heavy rain and winds in excess of 100 mph. There were reports of general property damage, but no serious injuries to people.
King said Department of Transportation crews and contractors have been out assessing the damage. He said road infrastructure appeared to have fared better than initially expected, but there were “considerable pockets” of severe damage, particularly in areas affected by the tides.
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He said six roads are completely closed and several bridges are impassable.
King said the government would work on an urgent financial assistance package to help people and industries, and the federal government was committed to putting together a plan with the necessary finance to rebuild the docks “as quickly as possible”. .
“This will probably be the biggest recovery project [that we’ll ever have to deal with]” he said. “What the final number will be, I don’t know. But I hope it’s significant.”
Schools closed, hospitals dependent on generators
Drone footage showing damage to the Queen Charlotte Intermediate Building in Charlottetown. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
King said at least six schools have sustained significant damage and the Department of Education is reviewing contingency plans.
All PEI schools will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, with a further announcement coming on Tuesday.
“Thank you for taking this seriously. Thank you for looking out for each other,” said Justice and Public Safety Minister Darlene Compton.
“It’s times like these that we see how we come together and the countless stories I’ve heard from Islanders about helping each other. It shows me that we can overcome anything together.”
Workers removing fallen trees from the road. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Health PEI confirmed Sunday afternoon that Prince County Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital had their power restored. Earlier in the day, chief executive Michael Gardam had said the island’s hospitals were open but running on generator power.
Gardam said MRIs and many elective surgeries have been postponed and COVID-19 testing clinics are closed.
“We’re really just on emergency measures,” Gardam said. “We’ve scaled back everything we’re doing to really take care of the patients that are in the facility, our emergency room, that kind of thing.”
Gardam said Hillsborough Hospital has some leaks but all hospitals escaped relatively unscathed. Health PEI offices also sustained damage which will require staff to work from home for the time being.
1 death related to generator use
Tanya Mullally of the province’s Emergency Management Organization said there has been one death since Saturday’s briefing.
The cause is undetermined, but he said preliminary findings point to the use of the generator.
He urged islanders who have portable generators to use them outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
“We can’t urge enough people,” he said. “We understand you need to have your generator running, but we just ask that you use it safely so we can make sure we don’t have any more injuries or deaths.”
Generalized cuts are maintained
Maritime Electric spokesman Kim Griffin said there is a small pocket in the downtown area that supplies Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Irving Oil terminal that had power restored.
But Griffin said 92 percent of the company’s customers are still without power.
As of 8:40 p.m., more than 81,000 Maritime Electric customers were without power.
Griffin said crews are still “not halfway” through their assessment, but have logged more than 300 poles in the province so far.
Some roads in Charlottetown were blocked Sunday to allow crews to clear downed trees from Post-Tropical Storm Fiona. (Shane Ross/CBC)
A helicopter was in the air looking at the transmission towers. Griffin said crews have not seen any significant damage to transmission lines so far.
Asked earlier in the day when residents should expect power to be restored, Griffin said he simply didn’t know, warning it could take up to 48 more hours.
Maritime Electric already has out-of-province crews helping and Griffin said more crews from neighboring provinces are on the way.
Maritime Electric also reminded residents to assume downed power lines are still operational and to stay away.
The Prime Minister said that the restoration of electricity at the terminal will allow the distribution of gas on the island. But officials reminded islanders to drive only when necessary so crews can get the gas they need.
Neighbors asked to stay at home
More than 82,000 Maritime Electric customers were still without power Sunday morning. (CBC)
Officials are asking residents to stay off the roads and shelter in place as downed trees and power lines are still down on roads across the island.
Charlottetown Police Chief Brad MacConnell told CBC News Sunday morning that it’s still not safe for residents to venture outside except in an emergency.
“We ask people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary,” he said.
“Stay home unless you have to go somewhere, like a shelter or a place of need. Now is not the time to be curious about what’s going on in our community, now is not the time to be reckless in your actions exposing yourself to danger…and now is not the time to be selfish when it comes to these things.”
Many people left their homes Saturday to survey the damage. (Shane Ross/CBC)
MacConnell said there is “a lot of devastation” and there is hardly an area of the city that has not been significantly affected.
Some roads in Charlottetown were blocked to allow crews to work unhindered. Crews are prioritizing major roads around fire stations and reception centers, according to a news release issued Sunday by the City of Charlottetown.
Cell service and Internet access remained intermittent Sunday morning, communication was unreliable.
A spokesperson for Bell Aliant told CBC News that most of the company’s wireless sites in PEI were operating on battery backup or generators. Eastlink officials said downed trees, poles and lines were creating challenges for crews. And Rogers said in a statement that crews were coming from Ontario and Quebec to help.
The resumption of travel and traffic is not clear
Mike Cassidy of T3 Transit, which operates in Cornwall, Charlottetown, Stratford and Summerside, said crews were waiting for stores and restaurants to open before resuming transit operations.
“Right now our lives in Prince Edward Island have changed dramatically with Hurricane Fiona,” he said.
“Everything we do operationally has to change. Traffic can’t go out on the street when there’s no stores, no retail, no grocery stores, open… We’re ready to go at any time when we hear what is happening.”
In downtown Charlottetown, many roads remained completely blocked Sunday. (Shane Ross/CBC)
Most flights in and out of Charlottetown Airport were canceled Sunday as Charlottetown Airport General Manager Doug Newson said crews were busy assessing the damage and clearing the property.
“Overall, when you look at the infrastructure, it’s in pretty good shape. The terminal itself didn’t have any major damage other than a little bit of water and the runway infrastructure at the moment looks pretty good,” he said. to say.
Newson said the airport hopes to reopen as soon as possible, with additional flights and larger aircraft being added to Monday’s schedule.