A Dorian experience

This past weekend, eastern Canada experienced hurricane Dorian as she tore her way across the Atlantic provinces. Saturday into Sunday was a scary time for many on Prince Edward Island as the rain and winds lashed the island for hours before they began to subside on Sunday morning. It was our worst weather experience ever.

If one can prepare for such an event, we were prepared. My husband had braced the patio deck and acquired gas for the generator which had been tested. We had taken in the patio furniture or tied it to the deck. The garbage and compost bins were inside too. Food was well stocked without a special trip to the store as was water. We were ready.

I imagine the Bahamians thought they were ready too.

The rain and wind started by 11 a.m., several hours earlier than forecast. They only intensified as the day progressed. By the time our daughter was driving home from work at 7:30 p.m., trees were across the roads, requiring a change of route.

The power was out by the time she arrived home and we lost power shortly after. We used the generator. She doesn’t have one.

Homes in PEI have a sump pump system to pump out water from basements. The high water table on the island makes such a system necessary. With a loss of power, the sump pump doesn’t work of course. It is the main reason we have a generator, to continue to pump out water when necessary. After we completed the basement remodel, we didn’t want to worry about water damage from a loss of power.

Our daughter spent several hours dipping water out of the sump drain to ensure her basement didn’t flood. She’d have to continue all night except her power came back on and stayed on, an unexpected relief.

There were times overnight when I thought the roof was going to lift off the house. However we survived the night without any major damage. The new metal roof prevented shingle loss on our house though shingles are strewn around the neighbourhood from houses nearby. Some houses look like a zipper opened to remove siding.

Trees are down over lawns, cars and houses, houses are damaged, as are fences, patio decks and much more. It will take days for power to be restored everywhere and things to get back to normal across the island. However, we are lucky.

The images of the total destruction in parts of the Bahamas from the same storm at Category 5 are unbelievable. I can only imagine the terror of those poor people as they tried to survive the incredible wind and water from rain and storm surge. All we can do is financially support relief efforts to help those who remain. 

 

P.S. Power in our neighbourhood was out 22 hours. It will be longer for other parts of our city.