The search has been launched to find a missing 73-year-old woman who is feared was washed to sea by Hurricane Fiona.
The elderly woman was last seen at her home in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, on Saturday morning as the storm hit Canada’s east coast, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Moments later, a huge wave hit her home and washed away part of the basement, police said.
Since then, the 73-year-old has not been seen or heard from.
Authorities had received a report around 10am on Saturday that the woman may have been swept from her home into the sea, but continued dangerous conditions meant they were unable to confirm the incident or send aid to the area at the time. .
Officials began searching the area by air, land and sea on Sunday in hopes of finding the elderly woman.
Multiple agencies are involved in the search, including the Canadian Coast Guard, Government Air Services, Barachois Search and Rescue Team, Stephenville Search and Rescue Team and the RCMP Tactical Support Group. On the other hand, they asked the residents to refrain from their own searches because of possible dangers.
In the hardest-hit area on the far south-western edge of Newfoundland, another woman narrowly escaped on Saturday when her home collapsed and she was thrown into the raging waters.
The woman was quickly rescued from the water and taken to the hospital; his injuries are unknown.
Up to a dozen Port aux Basques houses are believed to have been washed into the sea after Fiona stormed the area on Saturday.
As locals survey the destruction of their homes and communities, the Canadian Army has been recruited to help with the recovery effort.
Houses near the sea were destroyed during the tropical storm
(via Portal)
Defense Minister Anita Anand said the troops would help clear fallen trees and other debris, restore transport links and provide any other assistance needed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was forced by the storm to cancel a trip to Japan to attend the funeral of slain former President Shinzo Abe, said at a news conference Saturday night that he had also approved a request for federal aid from Nova Scotia. where Fiona first landed.
Trudeau pledged that the Canadian government will help the recovery effort “every step of the way” and pledged to match all Red Cross donations to hard-hit communities over the next 30 days.
“The government is ready to support the provinces with the necessary resources,” he said.
Fiona, which evolved from a hurricane into a powerful post-tropical cyclone on Friday, made landfall in Nova Scotia Saturday morning before carving a destructive path down Canada’s east coast.
Gale force winds, heavy rain and huge waves swept through Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec, sweeping houses into the sea, ripping off roofs from houses and upending power lines and trees.
More than 500,000 people were left in the dark after Fiona switched off the power on Saturday morning.
In Nova Scotia, power outages affected more than 415,000 homes, about 80 percent of the province’s population, according to the region’s Power Outage Center.
As of 1 p.m. local time on Sunday, around 245,000 were still without power and authorities warned the problem could last for several days.
While no deaths or serious injuries have yet been confirmed in Canada, Fiona claimed the lives of at least 16 people in Puerto Rico.
One of the victims was a four-month-old baby who died because his mother was unable to reach a hospital due to road closures.
Fiona was a hurricane when it hit Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe earlier in the week.
Now, nearly a week later, more than half of Puerto Rico’s nearly 1.5 million residents are still without power.
The situation is similar to the crisis situation five years ago, when some areas had to wait up to a year to get power back after Hurricane Maria.