PWRDF tops up Fiona response to $50,000

January 26, 2023

By Christine Hills

On September 24, 2022, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in the Maritimes and Atlantic Canada. The category 4 hurricane has been compared to 2019’s Hurricane Dorian “but on steroids,” with power outages and loss of property on a more devastating scale. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that the damages from Hurricane Fiona have now reached $800 million.

“This was an unprecedented storm event,” wrote Chris Pharo, PWRDF’s Diocesan Representative in the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the day after the storm. “It was very violent and scary. Fiona arrived about 10 p.m. on Friday night and left about mid-day on Saturday. The destruction is very severe. Buildings have been moved off foundations, roofs ripped off buildings, cottages picked up and thrown into the sea and there was much damage to crops.”

PWRDF began accepting donations in late September and Anglicans responded generously. More than $37,000 was donated from individuals and parishes rallying to the cause. Now, after months of consulting with representatives from all affected dioceses, PWRDF has transferred those donations, along with a $13,000 grant, to the Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI for a total of $50,000.

The Diocese is inviting proposals from parishes and not-for profit community groups in need of support following Hurricane Fiona. These proposals will fill the gaps between monies received from insurance or government funds, without duplicating efforts or funding streams. The maximum amount of funding per initiative is $8,000.

To allocate the funds efficiently and effectively, the Diocese has formed a Hurricane Fiona Resilience Response Project Support Committee, with a mandate to review and approve applications for funding. The objective of the committee is to ensure a good process of requesting, reviewing and approving applications from communities within the diocese. A part-time administrator will assist the committee and liaise with all interested applicants.

Believing that storms of this magnitude or worse will increase in the future and that preparedness and resiliency are critical, projects may include:

• Emergency awareness and preparedness training
• Preparing warming stations in the event of power outages or other damage
• Purchase of emergency generators
• Community gatherings to process and prepare for weather- or climate-related events
• Counselling and supports for those impacted by an emergency