A New Daily Minimum Temperature Record set in Nova Scotia - 09/14/2019

Weather summary
for Nova Scotia
issued by Environment Canada
at 3:52 a.m. ADT Sunday 15 September 2019.

Discussion.

The following area set a daily minimum temperature record on
September 14, 2019:

Ingonish Area (Ingonish Beach RCS)
New record of 1.7
Old record of 2.2 set in 1965
Records in this area have been kept since 1950

Note: the temperature record reported here has been derived from a
selection of historical stations in this geographic area that were
active during the period of record.

Please note that this summary may contain preliminary or unofficial
information and does not constitute a complete or final report.

End/ASPC

'We're no further ahead': Tatamagouche Nova Scotia man angry with NSP after repeated outages

Resident wants trees surrounding power lines trimmed, maintained by utility

Brooklyn Currie · CBC News · Posted: Sep 14, 2019 11:46 AM AT | Last Updated: September 14

Guy Rochon is not happy with Nova Scotia Power. His power went off and on for much of the week and he's had to empty his fridge twice in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

But Rochon, who owns a small farm in Tatamagouche, N.S., said the power going out on his road is a fairly regular occurrence.

"Since I've moved here it's been incessant power outages," he said. "And I think this year we're approaching the 10th power outage."

Rochon said he has continually contacted Nova Scotia Power in the four years he's lived in the area. He reports the outages and asks for the utility to trim the trees that are extremely close to power lines before they can lead to problems.

His power lines run through a heavily wooded area.

"Four years later, we're no further ahead," he said. "They will only come to remove what's fallen on the lines."

There is the cost of throwing out spoiled food after power outages. But one of Rochon's biggest concerns is the well-being of his farm animals when the power goes out in the winter, he said.

"Last year we had a significant storm, a really bad cold winter, and I had to go four or five days without power," Rochon said. "We're being told to be prepared for 72 hours. We're starting to exceed that now and I'm wondering when does this all stop?"

Rochon said he plans to organize some people from the area to start putting pressure on Nova Scotia Power, even though some of his neighbours have told him to give up,

"I don't want to stop," he said. "I want to continue fighting the utility until some plan gets put into place to address this situation because power outages like this should not be happening."

A spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power said the utility is aware of the concern in that area and plans to work there next year.

"It was work we prioritized as a 2020 item because there were other areas that we identified needed attention before this one," the spokesperson said.

Rochon said he was shocked to hear it won't be done until next year because it means going through one more winter of power failures.

Parks starting to reopen in Nova Scotia after Dorian

Public Gardens, Graves Island, Whycocomagh among locations available to the public

Anjuli Patil · CBC News · Posted: Sep 14, 2019 2:40 PM AT | Last Updated: September 14

Municipal and provincial parks in Nova Scotia are beginning to reopen one week after Hurricane Dorian blew through the region.

The Halifax municipality announced on Friday the Public Gardens, Shubie Park and Point Pleasant Park have reopened.

Users of Point Pleasant Park must keep pets on leash when approaching working staff and stay on the paths, the municipality's parks and recreation department stated in a tweet on Friday evening.

Dan Bignell walked his dog through the park "a couple of times since the storm." He said with the exception of a few areas in the park, much of it weathered the storm fairly well.

"There's no problem from what I can see," Bignell said.

Emily MacKay noted some of damage while out on her run.

"There's some torn up sections, there's a lot of seaweed, quite a few rocks you want to be careful on, fallen trees, but if you're thinking and you're smart you can easily look after yourself," she said.

There are more than 900 parks throughout the municipality and crews are still in the process of assessing the damage and removing downed trees and debris, municipal spokeswoman Erin DiCarlo said in an email.

All sports fields, artificial turf fields and ball diamonds throughout the Halifax area have also reopened.

Minister of Lands and Forestry Iain Rankin told CBC News on Saturday that crews working in the parks have been seeing downed trees and power lines, but no major infrastructure challenges.

He said some contractors with heavy machinery were called in to "address some issues."

"There are areas that we've identified as possible safety areas and those areas have been roped off," Rankin said.

The following provincial parks have reopened:

Battery.
Cape Chignecto.
Caribou-Munroes Island, loop A only.
Dollar Lake.
Graves Island.
Mira River.
Porters Lake.
Valleyview.
Whycocomagh.

The following provincial parks have more extensive damage and will be closed until at least Sept. 17:

Amherst Shore.
Blomidon.
Caribou-Munroes Island, loop B and C.
Ellenwood.
Five Islands.
Smileys, closed for the season.
The Islands.
Thomas Raddall.
Rissers Beach.
The following parks are closed to the public:

Heather Beach, closed indefinitely.
McNabs Island, closed indefinitely.
Cape Split.

Prince Edward Island offering first-ever disaster assistance program following Dorian

'This is an unprecedented situation that has touched all of us in one way or another,' says premier

Tony Davis · CBC News · Posted: Sep 14, 2019 3:29 PM AT | Last Updated: September 14

The P.E.I. government is offering emergency funding to deal with the aftermath of post-tropical storm Dorian.

P.E.I. residents will be able to access emergency funding from government in the coming days to aid in recovery costs, a news release from the provincial Emergency Measures Organization says.

The province's first-ever disaster assistance program will be rolled out at the beginning of the week to help Islanders, small businesses and non-profit organizations with costs to repair or replace uninsurable

Basic property loss.

Provincewide impacts like what has been experienced following Dorian have never been felt on P.E.I. before, Premier Dennis King said in the release.

"This is an unprecedented situation that has touched all of us in one way or another. We are in this together and we are here to help Islanders," he said.

Cabinet met Friday afternoon to begin activating the program. That step also triggers access to disaster relief funding from the federal government.

Cabinet also approved a one-time emergency fund program for about 6,000 Islanders currently receiving income assistance to support their basic needs.

Under the program, individual income assistance clients will receive $110, a couple will receive $140 and an additional $30 will be provided to clients for each of their dependents.

More government aid for Dorian damage, says P.E.I. premier
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Details about how and where Islanders can apply for financial assistance will be shared early next week, the release said.

Too late?

There is some criticism of the government's response.

Liberal MLA Hal Perry said if cabinet met Friday to discuss a disaster assistance program that was six days after the storm.

"Here it is a week after and now we are getting something, but we are not getting enough. You know what? It is a little bit too late," Perry said.

He said he appreciates government offering some aid now, but he would like to know more details.

Perry said the prime minister offered to help the province already and King did not "pick up on that."

"He didn't reach out for that help until Friday of this week, and again we need to have a plan for Islanders in place so that  if this ever happened again Islanders don't have to go a week without any

leadership."

After Dorian devastation, MLA revives call for alternate route into West Prince
Wait for power restoration will reach full week for some P.E.I. residents

Perry said government should have been better prepared for the storm.

"Now we've gone seven days after and many individuals still don't have power. Many individuals have lost not only property but income because of this," he said.

King stands by efforts

King is standing by the government's efforts.

"While the assessment is ongoing, the supports we are rolling out this week are going to help thousands of Islanders across the province who have been impacted by Hurricane Dorian," he said in an email.

He said the assistance program will help access federal funding.

"We know that this is a difficult time for so many Islanders and our focus is on helping them," he said. "This is a first step."

Power restored to most people on Prince Edward Island

'The plan is to get everyone back on by tonight'

Sam Juric · CBC News · Posted: Sep 15, 2019 1:17 PM AT | Last Updated: an hour ago

Fewer than 500 Islanders remain without power on P.E.I. eight days after post-tropical storm Dorian.

As of 5:03 p.m., on Sunday, all but 176 customers had their power restored, according to the Maritime Electric website.

The utility hoped to have the rest of its customers reconnected by the end of the day.

About 80 crews were out across the Island beginning at 7 a.m., said Kim Griffin, the utility's spokesperson.

"The plan is to get everyone back on by tonight," Griffin said.

How to dispose of your rotting, spoiled food after Island power outages
P.E.I. offering first-ever disaster assistance program following Dorian
Maritime Electric is asking customers who remain without power to reach out if they haven't already.

"Give us a call if your power is still out and you have not reported it to us. Please call us at our 1-800 number. We want to verify that you're in our system," Griffin said. 

With most power restored, several businesses and services that were closed all week as a result of the storm are opening their doors again.

The courthouse in Summerside will reopen Monday after being closed all week due to problems with the electricity as well as the phones, computers and internet.

In addition, Health PEI has advised that power has been restored to Community Mental Health and Addictions services in Alberton.

Scam warning

Despite most customers having their power back, Griffin is still warning people to be wary of a phone and text scam that is circulating.

Customers are being contacted by someone claiming to represent Maritime Electric and threaten disconnection if they don't deliver immediate payment, she said.

"We don't communicate with our customers about billing via text," Griffin said.

Customers who receive similar text or phone messages, she said, are being asked to notify Maritime Electric and RCMP immediately.

Cleaning up Shediac New Brunswick a week after Dorian

Members of the yacht club approve spending $75,000 on studies before rebuilding

Gary Moore · CBC News · Posted: Sep 15, 2019 2:16 PM AT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

About 60 boats were tossed around and tangled up by winds and waves on Saturday at the Shediac Bay Yacht Club in Shediac, N.B.

Like many parts of New Brunswick, Shediac is on the mend from Dorian's visit.

The wind wreaked havoc at the marina, leaving a tangle of boats piled into each other, after a couple of docks let go during the storm.

It's a different scene at the club a week later. All but one boat is out of the water and club members met on Saturday to discuss what to do next.

Gerry O'Brien, the manager at the Shediac Bay Yacht Club, said about 120 members of the club attended the meeting.

They discussed what engineering would need to be done before the club could move to the next step.

O'Brien said the board of directors gave presentations about what happened before and after the storm.

The members of the club voted to spend up to $75,000 for engineering studies so they can start to rebuild.

"The objective is to get something ready for next spring," O'Brien said, adding that the docks were only built in 2011 following a storm surge in December 2010.

O'Brien said the goal is open the marina on time for the start of the 2020 season in May.

It wasn't only boats that took a pounding during Dorian. Large trees toppled over in neighbourhoods not too far from the marina.

Danielle Bourque said she's fortunate that two downed trees in her front yard didn't cause significant damage to her house or her neighbour's house.

"If the tree was a little bit taller, we would've got it," Bourque said.

One of the trees landed on her next door neighbour's electrical pole and blocked the driveway. 

Bourque said it took a few days to get the trees cleaned up.

She's waiting for information about what needs to be done with a giant tree root that ripped up from the ground.

"It's going to be costly if we have to take it out of the ground. It would need a crane or something to come and pick that up."