Vianne Timmons

October 7, 2022

My mother just had her 89th birthday. She lives by herself in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in a rambling old colonial home. She is fiercely independent, regularly attending spin class at the local YWCA. When we were warned about Hurricane Fiona, I called my mother and told her to charge her cell phone in case she lost power. She did not.

She lost her power, as did so many people in Nova Scotia, PEI and southwestern Newfoundland.  She was 11 days without power. She lives on a fixed budget and is careful about every penny.  She has been that way her whole life. She has a freezer where she stores all the sale items she gleefully finds. She lost all her food in the freezer and fridge. She was not able to shower and had no phone access.

Her home had minimal damage, her beloved garden was demolished and the blinds on her balcony were shredded.  I did contact a neighbor to check on her and she was fine. It was, however, a very stressful 11 days. Overall, more than 471,000 people in Atlantic Canada were without power.

Many people fared much worse. A woman in Newfoundland lost her life, swept out to sea. There were lost homes, loss of major infrastructure, trees down, flooding and washouts. In Port-aux-Basques alone, there more than 100 homes destroyed or damaged beyond repair. The homes that were lost had been in families for generations. Insurance companies estimate losses as high as $700 million dollars.

One of the challenges homeowners face is that many insurance policies do not cover flood or storm-surge coverage. People are dealing with significant loss and now the added stress of trying to manage through insurance claims and government supports. Provincial and federal governments have recognized this with financial relief. Canada has a Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement (DFAA) which is a cost-sharing program between levels of government. Through the DFAA, the federal government is covering up to 90 percent of eligible provincial expenses. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced $300 million dollars to be administered by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). In addition, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced up to $30 million in relief funds. These investments are critical to provide immediate support and to rebuild the region.

The impact of the hurricane spreads beyond the actual areas where it landed. It has affected many people in Atlantic Canada and Quebec who have family and friends who were in the eye of the storm. Here at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, we identified more than 120 students whose families were adversely affected. These students required supports during this stressful time.

As with many disasters, communities come together in support. Not surprisingly, this has definitely been the case in Newfoundland and Labrador.  The entire province stepped up, collecting items such as clothes, household supplies, furniture and cash donations.

Truckload after truckload of supplies were dispatched across the 900 km stretch of highway across the island of Newfoundland. The Red Cross in Newfoundland and Labrador set up an emergency shelter in Port-aux-Basques. They received more than $1.8 million in donations within 48 hours from a national appeal.

This story is one of the power of nature, and the resilience of people.  My mother, who will be turning 90 years old in 2023, is fine; irritated that she had to go to a hotel to get a shower and sad that she lost all of her treasured dahlias.  She is from Atlantic Canada — tough and practical.  She will plant her garden again next year, as will so many, and tell tall tales about how she survived Hurricane Fiona.

Contributing Writer Vianne Timmons is President and Vice Chancellor of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.