While this weekend’s hurricane had most Islanders hunkered down at home, Tami MacIntyre was one of the many workers ensuring others were safe.
The resident worker helped run the overflow shelter at Jack Blanchard Hall in Charlottetown during hurricane Dorian. By the time Dorian hit P.E.I. in the early hours of Sept. 8, it was downgraded to a post tropical storm.
But it still left its mark.
MacIntyre’s workplace, Bedford MacDonald House, orchestrated the overflow shelter for people without permanent housing, alongside the Salvation Army, the provincial government, and Holy Redeemer Church.
Over the course of the storm, about 50 people arrived for warm food and beverages, card games, fellowship, and a place to sleep, MacIntyre said.
“There was a lot of people in (Sunday) morning.”
The shelter was scheduled to close at noon on Sunday, but officials decided to keep it open for an extra night and into Monday morning due to the need and positive response.
“People have been great,” MacIntyre said.
More than 15 reception centres were open across P.E.I. on Sunday for anyone looking to access electricity and warm up.
Islanders were posting on social media all throughout Sunday on the impact Dorian left in their communities.
Whether it was downed power line poles, fallen trees blocking roads, or torn-off roofing, the aftermath of Dorian will be felt for the next while.
According to a preliminary summary released by Environment Canada on Sept. 8, Bonshaw received the most rainfall during the storm at 103 millimetres, while North Cape had the highest wind speed at 122 km/h.
Charlottetown Airport recorded winds of 102 km/h, but only 48 mm of rain. Central P.E.I. got the highest combination of winds and rain, with communities from Summerside to Bonshaw bracing against winds of up to 115 km/h and rainfall amounts between 90 and 100 mm.
As of 6:00 p.m. today, about 45,700 Islanders were without power. Kim Griffin, communications manager with Maritime Electric, said there were about 62,000 without power at the height of the storm.
Maritime Electric had 40 crews around the Island, their focus being on removing fallen trees from power lines to take care of the transmission system, Griffin said.
“It’s been very slow-going.”
When The Guardian spoke with Griffin on Sunday evening, about 25 power line poles were down across P.E.I. And that’s not the final number, she said.
“I suspect that the helicopters will probably find more.”
Once lines are cleared of debris, crews will start focusing on restoring power to those without. But because there are many smaller, individual outages, it may take until Wednesday until power is restored Islandwide.
Current assessments suggest Dorian hit western P.E.I. harder. It received more damage and more poles were downed, she said.
“But they’re still completing the assessment in the west.”
There will be more than 40 crews working on Monday, with some crews being contracted from Ontario and Newfoundland.
Some of the biggest damage from the weekend is from falling trees and branches. One giant tree blocked Fitzroy Avenue in Charlottetown Sunday morning near the appropriately named Felling Street.
Environment Canada’s preliminary weather summary:
Rainfall in millimetres:
Bonshaw: 103
Bordon: 91
Summerside: 90
Spring Valley 86
Charlottetown Airport: 48
Stratford: 37
Windspeed in kilometres per hour:
North Cape: 122
East Point: 120
Summerside: 115
Charlottetown Airport: 102
St. Peters: 98
Stanhope: 93
Maple Plains: 85
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