Fiona’s destruction laid bare in video showing homes washed away in Newfoundland

A shocking video shows the devastating impact of post-tropical storm Fiona as it brought high winds, rain and flooding to Canada’s Atlantic coast.

Footage posted by Pius Scott shows conditions in the town of Isle aux Morts, located down the coast from Wreckhouse and Port aux Basques, N.L.

The video shows the sea overtaking land, with pieces of wood, tires and other debris scattered across the beach. Dark storm clouds hang overhead as the camera captures the colourful houses sitting in water.

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While some homes sat mostly intact, others were left completely destroyed as water flooded through the neighbourhood. Where a street once curved down to a residential area, a waterfall can be seen.

Fiona continued to surge across southeastern Quebec on Sunday. According to Environment Canada, the post-tropical storm is expected to weaken as it moves across southeastern Labrador and over the Labrador Sea.

At the peak of power outages, nearly 500,000 Maritimers were left without power on Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of residents across all four provinces remain without power as of 11 a.m. local time Sunday.

Some municipalities also declared a local state of emergency due to the storm.

Wreckhouse, N.L., saw wind gusts reach nearly 177 km/h combined with a rainfall total of over 67.2 mm on Saturday. Nearby, Port aux Basques, N.L., saw its water level rise 2.73 metres, the Canadian Weather Service said.

In Nova Scotia, wind gusts as high as 141 km/h hit the Atlantic region Saturday afternoon, along with more than 200 millimetres of rain.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., said Fiona set an unofficial record for the lowest-ever barometric pressure for a tropical storm making landfall in Canada. The recorded pressure at Hart Island was 931.6 millibars.

FEDERAL RESPONSE

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday the federal government will deploy the Canadian Armed Forces to assist in recovery efforts.

The federal government will also match any donations to the Canadian Red Cross by individuals and corporations over the next month, he said in a press conference Saturday.

“We're thinking first and foremost of the people who've had a terrifying past 12 hours,” Trudeau said at the press conference. “As Canadians, as we always do in times of difficulty, we will be there for each other.”

 

 

With files from The Canadian Press, CTV Atlantic and Storyful