The army was called to the rescue on Saturday to help Saint John of Newfoundland (East Coast) recover from a violent blizzard that buried the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador under a record snow cover.
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76.2 centimeters of snow has fallen since Friday morning at Saint John’s airport and similar accumulations have covered the city where cars and some houses disappeared under snowdrifts caused by winds exceeding 100 km / h.
Premier Dwight Ball said on Saturday that he had requested assistance from the federal government, “including the mobilization of the military,” to help clear up huge amounts of snow and clear the roads.
Ottawa quickly announced its agreement to the request for assistance. Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan, an elected official in the province, said during a press conference that the priority would be to clear access to hospitals to allow patients in treatment to get there.
The blizzard warning was lifted in the morning of Saturday by the Canadian weather services, but the city mayor Danny Breen maintained, until at least Sunday, the state of emergency which was declared Friday.
“All stores must remain closed (…) and all vehicles are prohibited on the city streets, except emergency vehicles: police, firefighters and ambulances,” the municipality tweeted.
Television footage showed impressive accumulations of snow, some of which blocked the entrance to homes.
There is no doubt that this storm “will be in the history books,” Prime Minister Dwight Ball told CBC, adding that no one remembered a storm of this magnitude.
One person was missing in the storm, according to CBC. Aid is on the way (…) we will get along together, “Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted.
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