Cape Bretoners getting by without creature comforts - Action News
Home WebMail Monday, November 11, 2024, 04:21 AM | Calgary | -1.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Nova Scotia

Cape Bretoners getting by without creature comforts

Tens of thousands of people living on the island are still in the dark and some are nearing a full week without power.

Nova Scotia Power says more than 65,000 customers lost electricity and many still have no power

Hannah Marks of Sydney stands in front of her family's Union Street home that was damaged from the impacts of the storm. (Erin Pottie/CBC)

In the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, there arethousands of people still in the dark and some are nearing a week without power.

Throughout the local area, empty shelves can be found at grocery stores and there are hour-long waits to get near some gas stations.

At a Sydney River laundromat, there was a lineup of 10 people waiting to get inside on Wednesday morning.

"It's been hard," said Rita Martin, who stood beside a basket of bedding.

"When you're used to having a routine everyday and doing your daily things it's a complete turnaround because you can't do half the stuff that you usually do."

Storm fallout

Rita Martin of Sydney Mines waited in a lineup to get inside a Sydney River laundromat on Wednesday morning. (Erin Pottie/CBC)

In the days since post-tropical storm Fiona brought damaging winds and rain to Atlantic Canada last Friday, many on the island are still dealing with the fallout.

Martin has no electricity inside her Sydney Mines seniors' apartment, but there is power in a common room that is shared by all.

To help pass the time, she and the other residents have been cooking and playing card games.

"We all have our meals together and we'll play games just to pass the time away and we have good laughs, so you make do with what you have. You don't realize how lucky you are to have what you have until it's gone."

Damage from fallen trees

Mary Blinkhorn visited the Coxheath fire station on Wednesday to fill containers of water for her home which lost power six days ago. (Erin Pottie/CBC)

Mary Blinkhorn, who lives just outside Coxheath, is another Cape Bretoner who is taking the inconveniences in stride.

She lost her power last Friday, but is thankful for family and friends who are willing to lend a hand.

"[It's] hard to eat food," said Blinkhorn. "You know this morning we went out for breakfast because I was dying for an egg. My daughter and her husband usually take us over for supper, so that helps."

Six trees fell in Blinkhorn's yard, crushing a barn and ripping the power line off her house.

Hannah Marks of Sydney is another person who saw damage to her home from falling trees. A tree branch pierced the family's roofon Union Street and caused damage to her father's pickup truck.

"The tree knocked the chimney off, right on top of the truck," said Marks.

"We were in the next room over and the whole house shook It still hasn't really set in yet, but I'm sure once it really does, it will be kind of crushing."

Marks said the gash in theroof is fixable and no one was hurt.

She andthe other womenare regularly checking Nova Scotia Power's outage map, but areuncertain about the accuracy of the estimates.

On Wednesday, Nova Scotia Power said it's continuing to assess the damage in Cape Breton that includes hundreds of broken power poles and downed lines due to falling trees.

Nova Scotia Powersaid more than 65,000 customers were affected in the region, butmore than 60 per cent have since hadtheir power restored.

Add some good to your morning and evening.

Get the latest top stories from across Nova Scotia in your inbox every weekday.

...

The next issue of CBC Nova Scotia newsletter will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in theSubscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.