Trepassey's breakwater damaged again by harsh weekend weather

For the second time in just over two months the town of Trepassey is dealing with infrastructure damage done by harsh weather and pounding waves. 

The community, on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula, was battered over the weekend by heavy winds and surf, causing more damage to the town's breakwater and severing a stretch of road connecting one end of the community to the other.

The breakwater hadn't yet been repaired to fix the damage down in September when Hurricane Earl swept through most of eastern Newfoundland.

"There's nothing there to protect us," said Mayor Rita Pennell on Monday, adding a contract was awarded to have the breakwater fixed earlier this month. 

"The contractor is waiting, I guess, to get timber and whatever he needed to get started. So he wasn't started, and if he had to have been started it'd be all gone."

Not only does the breakwater need to be replaced, said Pennell, but it also needs to be reinforced to prevent it from washing out again.

Breakwaters act as barriers to protect communities against tides, currents, waves and storm surges. Not only was Trepassey's breakwater damaged, the weather washed out a section of Lower Road which has residents living on both sides. The destruction and debris makes the road impassable to traffic, except for ATVs.

The loss of the connecting road has Pennell worried about residents' safety.

"You wouldn't get anybody with a helicopter, you wouldn't get anybody with an emergency because it was too windy. You wouldn't get anybody at all if there was a fire," she said. 

Scientists and mayors in Newfoundland and Labrador have said severe storms are becoming more frequent in recent years, especially for coastal communities. 

Pennell wants the provincial government to protect her town with a permanent solution.

"Are they waiting for somebody to die? Are they waiting for a tragedy like that? Because right now it's devastation down there," she said. 

"We have about maybe 35 people barred off from everywhere, barred off from even Trepassey. You can't even get up to Trepassey, you can't get to any stores, you can't get anywhere. They're just on a little island, I would say, and you can't get off it."

Around 2 p.m. on Sunday the weather let up enough to move heavy equipment onto the beach to begin the cleanup.  As of Monday morning, said Pennell, the road is open for emergency purposes only. Town council was planning to meet Monday morning to figure out next steps.