Military sent in to clean up after storm Fiona damage

Troops were sent to assist the recovery from the devastation of storm Fiona, which swept away houses, stripped off roofs and knocked out power across Canada’s Atlantic provinces.

After surging north from the Caribbean as a hurricane, Fiona came ashore before dawn last Saturday as a posttropical cyclone, battering Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec with hurricane-strength winds, heavy rains and huge waves.

The defence minister, Anita Anand, said troops would help remove fallen trees and other debris, restore transport links and do whatever else was required for as long as it took. She didn’t specify how many troops would be deployed.

Fiona was blamed for at least five deaths in the Caribbean, but there was no confirmation of any fatalities or serious injuries in Canada. Police said a woman who might have been swept away was listed as missing in the town of Channel-Port Aux Basques on the southern coast of Newfoundland.

Raging surf pounded Port Aux Basques and entire structures were washed into the sea.