Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved a request for military assistance for southwestern Newfoundland, where landslides caused by a severe storm have left the region isolated from the rest of the province.
Trudeau issued a brief statement Friday on Twitter, saying that members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be deployed to the area to provide transportation and logistical support. Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said on Twitter that the military will provide air support to help with evacuations and maintaining supply chains.
Early Friday, construction crews began repairing the Trans-Canada Highway, as Southwest Newfoundland’s largest city, Port aux Basques, faced food and fuel shortages.
The coastal community, which is home to 4,000 people, faced rapidly increasing flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday when a large low-pressure system dumped more than 160 millimeters of rain over the area, flooding basements and undermining local roads.
The nearby Codroy Valley was flooded with more than 200mm of rain. Minor roads at eight locations in the valley remained closed as of Friday due to damage or high water levels.
On Friday morning, the province shared a video on social media that showed a bulldozer lifting a large culvert in a hole where a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway used to be, near Overland Brook.
Motorists in the region are urged to avoid roadside construction sites.
The province has also established a helpline for residents.
“Contractors are also continuing to prepare other damaged areas for sewers that have been delivered to the region,” the province’s Department of Transportation said in a statement. The department confirmed that repair work on the Trans-Canada Highway will take another week to complete.
Motorists in the region are urged to avoid the works. Video shared Friday on social media shows a long line of trucking trucks bringing shiny new sewers to the area.
Meanwhile, cleanup continued in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, areas that also experienced record rains and howling winds this week. The province has estimated that the storm caused $ 7 million in damage.
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Near the North River Bridge community, several residents along the Trans-Canada Highway became isolated after the bridges were toppled by swollen rivers and streams flowing from the Cape Breton Highlands.
Bev MacAskill, who lives on Oregon Road, said the only way to get supplies home will be to run them through a makeshift line over a fast-moving stream where the bridge used to be.
“Let’s see if they can throw us a rope because my father doesn’t have medicine,” said MacAskill, whose 78-year-old father, Angus MacAskill, lives on the same property.
“It is a terrible situation in a small community. It is devastating. We have never seen storms that have done damage like this. “
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca