Another 10 to 15 cm of snow hit the ground in areas of Newfoundland and Labrador Monday — an extra knock after the bruising snowstorm Mother Nature unleashed on eastern parts of the province on Friday and into Saturday.
St. John’s and most neighbouring communities are slowly crawling back to life after being pummelled by heavy snow and high winds that shut cities and towns down.
On Sunday, however, a beautiful sunny, inviting winter’s day was in stark contrast to the battle ongoing — first responders and essential workers, and snow clearing crews and leaders exhausted after punching long hours, residents weary from shovelling out doorways, steps and driveways and vehicles lost in the high drifts.
Everyone facing blocked roads, and some days without power. Still, with all the help from neighbours and first responders, there remains seniors and others unable to shovel out.
Canada’s military has been called in to help out with that. They were seen around St. John’s on Monday.
Still, on Sunday kids excitedly played carefree with laughter ringing amid the high walls of snow, their breathe seen as puffs in the cold January air. And neighbours gathered outside to help each other, to find comfort in words and jokes, making the best of the sudden restriction of movement a declared state of emergency brings.
And many neighbourhoods went further — social media are full of people sliding, snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding — some daring the steep downtown roads in Olympic-worthy performances — and people having impromptu block parties complete with a fire and beer.
Still, some consider rules as being there to be broken. The roar of engines and the smell of oiled exhaust hit noses as snowmobiles and ATVs rode down the middle of city streets, and side streets. A childish, unsafe defiance.
The week has begun with state of emergencies remaining in effect, or being scaled back, to allow some businesses and services to reopen to allow people to get groceries and other supplies.
Schools, Memorial University and government buildings — including courts in the city — stayed closed on Monday, and are to remain closed on Tuesday to better allow cleanup crews to do their work.
The massive snowstorm had shut down much of the Avalon and Bonavista peninsulas with a record amount of snow.
According to Environment Canada, St. John’s International Airport recorded a new all-time daily snowfall record Friday of 76.2 cm. The previous record was 68.4 cm on April 5, 1999. Records began to be documented in 1942.
Wind gusts peaked at 171 km/h in Green Island, Fortune Bay, and 164 km/h at Bonavista. Highest gust recorded in the St. John’s area was 134 km/h.
St. John’s Regional Fire Department Chief Sherry Colford said the five people evacuated out of the Battery neighbourhood of St. John’s Friday night — after a snow avalanche damaged their home — were given accommodations through Canadian Red Cross.
Eastern Health gave a mid-day update Monday.
There will be a Doorways Mental Health & Addictions Walk-in Clinic today, Jan. 20, at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital on 3 West. Hours of operation are noon to 5 p.m. with the last available appointment at 4 p.m.
- Outpatient Mental Health and Addictions appointments at the Witless Bay Community Services Building (294 Southern Shore Highway) are cancelled today, Jan. 20. Clients will be contacted in the coming days to have their appointments rescheduled.
- Some pharmacies in St. John’s are to open today from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. for patients who require urgent medications and essential baby items. Individuals are encouraged to call ahead to confirm that their pharmacy is open, and that the service they require is available. During this time, patients can use their own vehicles to travel to and from pharmacies. A list of pharmacies that are open for business today can be found stjohns.ca/media-release/limited-number-pharmacies-open.
- The Breastfeeding Support Group, scheduled for 2 p.m – 3 p.m today (Monday, Jan. 20 in Harbour Grace will be moved from the Splash Centre (Cathedral Street), to the Eastern Health Taylor Building.
- Outpatient blood collection at the Health Sciences Centre, St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital and the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation will be restricted to urgent blood collection only. During this time, Eastern Health will only accept urgent blood work or international normalized ratio from private collectors and outside clinics. No routine drop-off services will be available for fertility services.
- Community Support Program clients with questions or concerns about their care can call 709-777-6300 and the on-call social worker will follow-up.
- Dialysis patients can call 709-777-3571 for missed appointments and other health related concerns, including emergency transportation to city hospital for dialysis.
Eastern Health also says it is continuing to facilitate hospital admissions and are putting plans in place to safely discharge patients, as needed. Individuals experiencing health concerns are directed to contact the: NL Health Line at 811 or 1-888-709-3555 to speak to a registered nurse; Mental health crisis line at 737-4668 or YYT 1-888-737-4668.
The Canadian Military is offering assistance to residents who are unable to clear a path to their doors. Support limited to vulnerable populations who require physical assistance with shovelling for home access only. Call Access St. John’s at 311 or email [email protected]
Newfoundland Power — faced with a list of power outages in challenging conditions — have restored power to most areas, according to its outages centre on its website.
But last night’s additional snow and stormy conditions didn’t help.
“Snow blocked roads, high snow drifts and salt contamination have delayed our ability to safely restore storm-related outages,” a Tweet from Sunday night reads. “The severe weather tonight is not helping. Unfortunately, some customers will be off into tomorrow. Sincere thanks for your ongoing support for our crews.”
