Hundreds of thousands of people on Canada’s Atlantic coast were still without power on Sunday, and authorities said they had found the body of a woman swept into the sea after remains of Hurricane Fiona swept away homes, roofs and roads in the provinces. blocked. of the land bordering that ocean.
After moving north from the Caribbean, Fiona made landfall before dawn Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, slashing into the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec with gale-force winds, rain and storm surge.
Defense Minister Anita Anand said the military would help remove fallen trees, repair transport lines and do everything else for as long as needed.
Fiona was credited with at least five deaths in the Caribbean and one more in Canada. Authorities found the body of a 73-year-old woman who went missing in the water in Channel-Port Aux Basques, a town on Newfoundland’s southern coast.
The woman was at her home just before a wave hit her home Monday morning and washed away part of the basement, police said. In a statement posted on social media, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the body was recovered Sunday afternoon with the help of the country’s coastguard and other rescue teams.
“We know what can happen when you live in coastal communities and, tragically, another person has been taken from you by the sea,” said Gudie Hutchings, a member of the Newfoundland parliament.
As of Sunday afternoon, more than 211,000 Nova Scotia Power and more than 81,000 Maritime Electric customers in the province of Prince Edward Island — about 95% of the total — were still without power. More than 20,600 homes and businesses in New Brunswick were without power.
More than 415,000 Nova Scotia Power customers — roughly 80% of the province’s nearly 1 million residents — were affected by power outages on Saturday.
Utilities say it could take days to restore full service.
Cape Breton Island Regional Mayor Amanda McDougall said on Sunday that more than 200 people were in temporary shelters. More than 70 roads in the region were completely blocked. He said he couldn’t count the damaged houses in his neighborhood.
He said it is critical that the armed forces arrive to help remove debris, noting that the road to the airport is inaccessible and the control tower has been badly damaged.
McDougall thought it was incredible that no one in his community got hurt.
“The population listened to the warnings and did what they had to do, and this was the result,” he said.
Prince Edward Island Prime Minister Dennis King said more than 100 members of the armed forces would arrive on Sunday to help with the recovery efforts. Schools will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday as many bridges have been destroyed.
“Damage of this magnitude and severity has never been seen in the history of our province,” King said. He noted that it will take a “colossal effort from thousands of people” to recover in the coming days and weeks.
Kim Griffin, a spokeswoman for Prince Edward Island’s electricity provider, said it will likely take “many days” to restore power to the entire island.
“There is a sense of shock and awe on the streets at the magnitude of the storm,” said Sean Casey, a member of parliament representing Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, adding that the public is determined to participate in Recovery’s efforts.
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Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed to this report.
