Igor prompts states of emergency in Newfoundland

Emergency state have been declared to south eastern regions of Newfoundland in the early morning of September 20th as Hurricane Igor reached Newfoundland from the south with heavy rain and windstorms. Hurricane Igor damaged most of the electric powers, major roads and bridges in Burin peninsula (southeast of Newfoundland) leaving the communities isolated under severe danger. More than 50 families from Clarenville, Marystown and Terrenceville in Burin peninsula were forced to be relocated at local school due to over 200 mm of rain and strong windstorms. Moreover, it is even more devastating as more than 20 000 residents of Burin peninsula are stranded at their homes waiting for boats to come and rescue them because of the flooding.

Sgt. Edgecombe, local police officer stated that it will be impossible for residents to escape Burin peninsula for several days since the only bridge connecting the area to the Trans-Canada Highway has been deteriorated. Police also reported that they cannot guarantee the safety of all civilians due to the lack of supplies and labour efforts. Hurricane Igor is expected to travel north and reach St.John's by the afternoon of September 20th. Mayor of St.John's,O'Keefe , believes that St.John's will be able to endure the hurricane with very little or no life losses and injuries. Mayor O'Keefe said "We are as ready as we possibly can. Every precaution and action that can be taken by city crews in preparation for that storm has been put in place since this morning." On the other hand, Canadian Hurricane Centre and Environment Canada has issued wind and rain warnings for the entire Newfoundland. At the very moment, more rescue and food supplies as well as labour efforts are essential in order to ensure the safety of people stranded at the Burin peninsula.

In my opinion, I find some very bright and positive actions being done in Newfoundland in order to secure the safety of civilians. Such as Mayor and local government of St.John's stepping up and sending precautions as well as setting up city crews to take actions in preparation for the storm. However, it was just frustrating to hear about the conditions at Burin peninsula after the Hurricane Igor has passed by earlier this morning. People had to be relocated to local schools in order to protect themselves and those who couldn't relocate themselves ahead of time were stranded at their homes hopelessly waiting for a rescue boat to come and rescue them. Moreover the fact that most of electric powers, major roads, and bridges being damaged is just horrifying. Out of all the damages, deterioration of the bridge connecting Burin peninsula to Trans-Canada Highway was especially devastating. Due to the deterioration, every civilians in Burin peninsula are now isolated completely for several days.

I strongly believe that this situation could've been prevented or at least could've been better if the communities and local government in Burin peninsula had came up with much more promising plans and initiatives ahead of time. Newfoundland should look out and be cautious towards hurricanes like Igor at all times because of their geological region. What happened to Burin peninsula had already been done and we cannot reverse it. However, what Newfoundland communities and government could do is to make sure that no further significant damages are being done to other regions within the province and to support Burin peninsula with more labour efforts and medical and food supplies. Moreover, every Canadian citizen from other provinces should also support and provide helps in order to repair the damages and to save the people under severe danger as soon as possible. I wish that everyone had learned their lessons through today's incident especially for people in Newfoundland and the Newfoundland's government. It is their job to come up with much more promising plans and actions towards hurricanes and natural disasters like the hurricane Igor in order to prevent further tragic catastrophes.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20100921/igor-newfoundland-100921/