Trepassey, N.L., calls state of emergency as breakwater, roads damaged by storm
The Town of Trepassey has declared a state of emergency because of storm damage to a road that's preventing emergency access and the risk of coastal flooding.
The announcement was made on the council's Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon.
Mayor Wanda Waddleton later told CBC News access to most of the town's breakwater has been destroyed.
"There's a couple places still standing, but they're not going to stand very much longer. And [we're] just hoping for the best tonight, hoping that no more damage will be done," Waddleton said Tuesday afternoon.
"The wall is totally gone, so we're open right to the elements. The waves are actually crashing in onto the main road."
The damage to the road means emergency vehicles aren't able to access the lower coast portion of the community.
"If we loses our water, we loses our electricity, and we loses connection for services, we're going to be in dire straits," Waddleton said.
Roads are being cleared by contractors, she added, and there are hopes the state of emergency can be lifted on Wednesday morning.
A reception centre for residents has been set up at town hall. Waddleton said no one has had to be evacuated yet.
The town had hoped a new breakwater could have been in place by now following extensive damage from previous storms.
The breakwater in Trepassey has been nearly destroyed, sending rocks and high waves over roads in the community. The town has declared a state of emergency. (Don Waddleton/Facebook)
The provincial government announced in November that it intends to spend close to $1 million for a new breakwater. Waddleton said materials were brought to the town in January, but work hasn't started.
Engineers will be in the community on Wednesday to assess the situation, Waddleton said.
"We were nearly three years waiting for that. Now, we have all this damage done. So God knows when we're going to get all this fixed," she said.
Thumbnail courtesy of Don Waddleton/Facebook via CBC.
The story was originally written by Alex Kennedy and published for CBC News.