By Mark Squibb/February 3, 2022
Ferryland MHA Loyola O’ Driscoll was on storm damage watch Monday morning, driving up and down the Southern Shore to speak with town councils and surveying the damage left in the wake of a massive rainstorm that struck Saturday night.
“We have a good many shoulders that have eroded away, and you would expect that with the amount of rain that we had,” said O’Driscoll. “In Ferryland, they had a couple of houses that were blocked off, so they’re in the process of getting tenders and getting that fixed starting tomorrow (Tuesday).”
Ferryland Mayor Aidan Costello said the worst of the damage was a break in the town’s main waterline.
Costello said around 8 a.m. Sunday morning, town staff and council members were out assessing the damage when they received word that people were having trouble with their water.
“We isolated it to a specific area, the quarry area of Ferryland,” said Costello. “But, we couldn’t find the leak because of all the flooding. So, daylight this morning (Monday) we were at it again and we located the leak. It was a section of the main line that had washed out. We have a temporary fix, and we’ve ordered some parts that will be delivered this afternoon, and we’ll be at it first thing tomorrow morning.”
Costello said that, all told, the town suffered three road washouts, damage to Route 10, the provincial highway which runs through town, and the damage to the waterline.
“We’re in the process now of applying for emergency funding through our provincial government,” said Costello, who noted O’Driscoll was helping with the application. “He did commit today to helping us out as best he can. He’s certainly on our side.”
Costello said government workers were onsite Monday repairing Route 10, and that repairs to town roads would begin Tuesday morning. He added some folks temporally lost access to their homes because of the washouts. While those residents can walk to their houses, they can’t drive their vehicles over the road.
He estimates the repairs will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Costello said the town had prepared as best it could for the storm, but the rainfall turned out to be much more than forecasted.
“We looked at the forecast, and I had our maintenance man go around and check all of our drains and pipes and culverts to make sure there was nothing blocked up,” said Costello. “He had a backhoe remove some debris from one of the culverts. And we were pretty confident that we were prepared as best we could be. They were only forecasting up to 40 millimeters. But the issue at the time is that the ground was frozen. There was probably a few inches of snow on the ground, so that combined with, I would guess up to 100 millimeters of rain, created the perfect conditions for the washouts we saw.”
Costello allowed the storm was one of the worst he’s seen.
“I’ve seen a couple of bad ones before, and this one ranks right up there with them,” he said.
The town has installed a temporary 18-inch collar around the watermain as a quick-fix until it can be fully repaired.
O’Driscoll said most towns along the Shore suffered damage from the storm. The main road in Renews was damaged due to heavy storm surges. In Bay Bulls, town staff saw significant shoulder washouts throughout town, as well as gravel and rock spray, though all roads remained passable. In Witless Bay, Southside Track and Fisherman’s Road sustained heavy damage. Fermeuse and Port Kirwan also suffered shoulder washouts.
O’ Driscoll said he was surprised by just how much damage was done, and, like Costello, said the amount of ice and snow that was on the ground preceding the rain likely added to the flooding.
“We’ve had this amount of rain before, but there didn’t seem to be this kind of flooding or this amount of damage done,” said O’Driscoll. “There’s been a lot of damage in the area for sure.”
So far as he knows, Ferryland is the only town that has yet to apply for emergency funding.
He hopes the money will come through quickly — especially as a handful of homes remain inaccessible by motor vehicles.
“God forbid if they needed an ambulance,” said O’Driscoll. “This has to be acted on pretty quick.”
