‘Total devastation’: Newfoundland town declares state of emergency due to Fiona

Saturday, September 24th 2022, 10:16 am – Some residents have fled, homes have been destroyed

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Everything east of town hall in Port aux Basques is under an emergency evacuation order as the town is pounded by severe winds, storm surge and flooding due to post-tropical storm Fiona.

Some residents in Port aux Basques have been forced to flee and some have lost their homes — including a two-storey apartment building.

“What’s actually happening here is total devastation,” said Mayor Brian Button.

SEE ALSO: PHOTOS: Fiona strikes the Maritimes with force, knocking out power to thousands

On Friday, the town had recommended that some residents in homes near the coast evacuate. On Saturday morning, that recommendation became an order.

“We are going to force people out of their homes if we need to. They need to go,” he said.

Power lines were down, the town hall was flooded and multiple roads were washed out.

“I’m telling you, it is a mess out there,” he said.

Damage and debris worsened in Port aux Basques Saturday morning. (Malone Mullin/CBC)

Button said it’s too early to say if anyone has been injured, but he said if people don’t listen to the evacuation order they are in danger.

The town is also having problems with its water system, and is under a boil advisory.

“This has become bigger, and worse than we had imagined.”

‘I took everything’

Mid-morning, the storm was wreaking havoc on daily life. Residents in low-lying parts of the community rushed to pack vehicles and move away from areas impacted by flooding. Some roads have been washed out, cutting some parts of the community off entirely.

Phil Boyles was one resident forced to flee his home due to the storm surge.

“I took everything everything out that I could try to keep and now it don’t look like I can even get back,” he said.

Boyles said the community is used to bad weather, but not like this.

WATCH: Storm surge comes with powerful winds in Cape Breton

Kay Gail was on the way to her job as a personal care worker for a 96-year-old woman, but was forced to turn back near the Port aux Basques town hall because the roads were to too dangerous.

Hundreds without power

Late Saturday morning, more than 1,000 Newfoundland Power customers were without power in the Port aux Basques, Stephenville and Isle aux Morts areas.

CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler, who is in Port aux Basques, said water levels had reached 2.4 metres before high tide.

“Winds are pretty strong at the moment. The seas are very angry as well,” she said.

Brauweiler said the storm is the lowest tropical cyclone to make landfall anywhere in the Atlantic region north of Florida.

Port aux Basques Mayor Brian Button said the east side of town has been evacuated due to severe storm surge and flooding. (Malone Mullin/CBC)

‘Damaging and devastating’

Early Saturday morning, Rob Carroll, a meteorologist with the Environment Canada weather office in Gander, said southwestern Newfoundland will see sustained winds of 100 km/h, gusting as high as 150 km/h to 180 km/h in the Wreckhouse area. Shortly before 6:30 a.m., the area had already seen 40 to 50 millimetres of rain. He said the area could see another 30 to 50 kilometres an hour over Saturday.

He said flooding is possible for areas along the south coast, but the risk is greater for areas further west.

“In the Port aux Basques area we could potentially see record levels, high water levels,” he said. “We’re looking at waves crashing in at 10 to 15 metres and again, high storm surge combined with that. So, could be pretty damaging and devastating.”

As the storm moves north, Carroll said winds will gust up to 130 km/h. He said southwest winds will gust up to 100 km/h this evening, before the weather calms overnight into Sunday. Central Labrador will see rain, and some areas in western Labrador could see snow.

He said eastern and central Newfoundland will see a mix of sun and cloud for most of the day, but winds will likely be strong, with some coastal areas on the Burin and Connaigre peninsulas seeing winds gusting up to 100 km/h.

WATCH: Houses knocked off foundations as Fiona pushes ocean inland

The story was originally published for CBC News. It contains files from Weekend AM, Malone Mullin, Ashley Brauweiler and Andrew Hawthorn.