By John Morris
PORT AUX BASQUES, Newfoundland (Reuters) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday will tour Atlantic Canada, where most lost power, many lost their homes, and a few lost their lives when record-setting storm Fiona ravaged provinces on the east coast.
Fiona made landfall on Saturday as a post-tropical storm with powerful winds, rainfall and high waves, leaving at least three people dead. Fiona recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for a storm making landfall in Canada, the hurricane centre said.
“As the devastating effects of Hurricane Fiona across the Atlantic provinces and eastern Quebec continue to be felt, our Canadian forces continue to provide support,” Defense Minister Anita Anand said at a briefing.
Anand said the Canadian army was helping local officials in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland with rescue and clean-up efforts.
Initial estimates by DBRS credit rating agency indicated that the cost to the insurance industry for insured losses would be in the C$300 million to C$700 million ($218 million to $509 million) range.
By Tuesday morning more than a quarter of electricity customers were still without power in Nova Scotia. Government officials have said it could take months before infrastructure could be fully restored.
Trudeau, who canceled a planned Japan trip for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is visiting the Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Nova Scotia to meet with residents and emergency crews, and to survey the damage.
“The storm will likely cause record insured losses in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI,” DBRS analysts said in a report.
However, the Atlantic Canada property insurance market is relatively small and losses should be manageable for the insurance industry, DBRS said.
Initial economic impact from the storm has also been felt by fishing companies, a key industry in Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
“The financial support needed will be on many fronts, including infrastructures at Small Craft Harbours facilities, lost and damaged fishing vessels, and the lost gear either in destroyed or damaged sheds, or gear that was actively fishing in the water at the time of the storm,” the Canadian Independent Fish Harvester’s Federation said in a statement.
($1 = 1.3750 Canadian dollars)
(Additional reporting and writing by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
