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Eastern Shore communities band together while awaiting power restoration
WATCH: Many Eastern Shore residents have been without power for several days and are leaning on each other for support and comfort. Alexa MacLean has more. – Sep 11, 2019
As the provinces inches closer to full power restoration – many rural communities have been faced with a waiting game that has lasted several days.
While tiresome, the wait hasn’t dampened the spirits of many Eastern Shore residents who are regularly checking in with their neighbours to ensure nobody has been left behind.
“People have been going door to door and sort of working out who’s there, who maybe left before the storm,” Thea Wilson-Hammond said, with the Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society.
A community run heritage village in Lake Charlotte has served as a community centre for residents and tourists in need of a warm meal, or water.
Alexa MacLean/Global Halifax
According to officials with the provincial Emergency Management Office, rural communities are still in need of restoration and crews are in the process of getting residents back online.
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“We still have unfortunately, thousands of residents without power. Our rural areas are still not back up and running and they are not expected to for the next few days. So, we are still doing water distribution points, comfort centers in those areas,” Erica Fleck said, the division chief of emergency management.
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In the meantime, community run organizations like the Memory Lane Heritage Village are pooling their resources together to help feed and provide services to people in need.
“We’ve been open to take care of people who don’t have flushing toilets, who don’t have running water, who can’t plug in their phone,” Janice Foley said, with the Memory Lane Heritage Village.
Janice Foley has been serving up beans and soup in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian to Eastern Shore residents and tourists in need of a warm meal.
Alexa MacLean/Global Halifax
With generators on site, the village has become a makeshift community centre for people in need of a warm meal, or just some conversation.
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“There’s gratitude, there’s a community atmosphere, there’s just camaraderie,” Foley said.
The Chezzetcook Fire Station is also open to people in need of water due to shortages as a result of power loss.
In addition, cell phone services and landlines have been down for several days.
“We have some neighbours that are shut in with wheelchairs and stuff. So, we’ve been running around gathering up generators and trying to look after them,” Carl Faulkner said, a Lake Charlotte resident.
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