Before and after Fiona: How a single storm changed the landscape of a Newfoundland townPost-tropical storm Fiona destroyed more than 100 homes in Port aux Basques in 2022. Here’s what it looks like one year later.
Peggy Savery was able to buy a home at a below-market cost thanks to a kind neighbour in Port aux Basques. Without an insurance payout, she says, she would have had to move away. WATCH | Insurance companies wouldn't pay for storm surge damages from Fiona. For future victims, who will?Newfoundlanders who lost their home to the most powerful storm to make landfall in Atlantic Canada say insurers didn’t pay out a cent when their homes were destroyed in September 2022. But an insurance expert says there’s a solution on the horizon for future flood victims.
"Right now we essentially have two solutions: we have government-backed disaster assistance, which is essentially free insurance paid for by the taxpayer, and then you've got an insurance market which won't cover those at high risk," he said. "Neither is optimal." Peggy Savery, meanwhile, has been busy replenishing what the family lost, trucking in furniture from Stephenville and decorating with whatever she's salvaged from the rubble left by Fiona.