11 homes were lost in Burnt Islands to Fiona. Now one man has found a new one
Impact of record storm still being felt 1 year later
When there's rain in the forecast, Wallace Kinslow says, the people in the community of Burnt Islands on Newfoundland's south coast now act differently than they did a year ago.
The storm that hit the community a year ago "is on everyone's mind," Kinslow told CBC News in a recent interview.
"I'm here putting gutters down through to make [sure] the water goes on down through the proper sewer."
Post-tropical storm Fiona devastated the community of just over 500 people in September 2022, destroying 11 homes in the town.
Winslow's home, at 123 Main St., was one of them. He estimates the storm caused around $100,000 of damage.
"We had the jacks in under there, like the steel jacks, and the sea got in under it and rose it up. Apparently the sea came in through the flooring," he said. "It was all full of mould, and you couldn't do anything," he said.
After the storm, Winslow spent seven months living in a trailer with his son and daughter-in-law and their children.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government gave him $200 per square foot for the loss of his home as part of the provincial compensation package — a number he says was not close to enough to rebuild.
"You lost everything you had there.… We all need help in this community," he said.
"I'm not here for the hundred thousand, two, $300,000, $400,000. I'm here looking for help, for a home for my wife and me and me grandkid."
Searching for answers and a place to live, Kinslow stumbled into a bit of luck when he heard the rare news of a home going up for sale in Burnt Islands.
"I came and knocked on his door.… He didn't even have a sign put up here," he said. "I said, 'I heard you're selling your house.' He said 'My God, Wallace, how did you know?"
Kinslow scooped up the house right away, and he's happy he and his family can stay on Main Street in Burnt Islands.
Now he's fighting to make sure others can stay there too.
The town is applying for funding to install water and sewer for an 11-unit subdivision for mobile homes. Town council is meeting with the provincial government this week to discuss the proposal, which Kinslow hopes will yield a positive result.
"You've got families out there looking to come back into this community, to buy a trailer, to buy a mobile home, because they lose their home their self. We need answering from the government," he said.
"The government gives us money. You can take that money and put it in your bank and you can do what you want, but you need a home, right?"
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
With files from Colleen Connors
