If your data or internet is limited, click here for the CBC Lite version of the PEI site.
The vast majority of homes in PEI were cut off by Monday morning, 48 hours after Hurricane Fiona hit the province on Saturday.
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.
As of 10:30 a.m., power remained out for more than 75,000 Maritime Electric customers, but down from 79,000 earlier in the morning. Power was restored at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown on Sunday.
Maritime Electric spokeswoman Kim Griffin told Island Morning she could not give an estimate of when power might be fully restored.
“We don’t know,” Griffin said.
“We’re making progress. Two thousand customers doesn’t sound like a lot for a restaurant, but if you’d asked me 24 hours ago, the teams didn’t even think they could do it.”
Summerside Electric, which serves PEI’s second city, had restored power to downtown, eastern areas and large sections of the city’s north by Sunday night, and had made more progress by Monday morning.
The City of Summerside posted this map on their Facebook page. (Town of Summerside)
In a Facebook post, the city said it could not yet provide estimates on power restoration and that fixing localized problems could take days.
Military to help clean up
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces have arrived on PEI to assist with cleanup efforts as most islanders remain without power.
Drone footage showing damage to the Queen Charlotte Intermediate Building in Charlottetown. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Premier Dennis King told Island Morning that the military has experience dealing with disasters around the world and he never thought they would be needed in PEI.
King said the government will work on an urgent financial assistance package to help people and industries, with an early focus on people who have lost food in power cuts. The federal government has pledged to come up with a plan with the necessary finances to rebuild the docks “as quickly as possible”.
“This is a Herculean effort that we’re going to need. We’ve got communities that have been torn apart. We’ve got docks and infrastructure that’s going to be broken,” he said.
“Especially in this climate where, you know, we’ve had some challenges with labor and with construction projects that are already at full capacity.”
In a statement Monday morning, the province again urged islanders not to leave except in an emergency.
“Stay at home or as close as you can,” the statement said. “The best way to help crews and first responders is to stay off the roads as much as possible.”
The province was expected to hold another briefing on Monday.
Internet and mobile phone service
Cell service and Internet access remained intermittent on Sunday.
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.
Schools closed, hospitals dependent on generators
pole down (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Island schools will remain closed until at least Tuesday, with a new announcement set for that day.
King said at least six schools have sustained significant damage and the Department of Education is reviewing contingency plans.
Health PEI confirmed Sunday afternoon that power at Prince County Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital had been restored. The rest were open, but running on generators.
Power was also restored to the Irving Oil terminal in Charlottetown, which the premier said would allow gas to be distributed across the island.
Poles have dropped in PEI (Jane Robertson/CBC)