Disaster Date:09/24/2022
Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia)
Hurricanes
What Happened
Hurricane Fiona struck Nova Scotia, and other parts of Atlantic Canada, on September 24, 2022. Winds of 140 kilometres per hour battered parts of the province, blowing down trees and damaging roofs and siding on houses.
What MDS Is Doing
In September 2022, Hurricane Fiona struck Cape Breton. Starting in October that year, and then from March this year, MDS Canada has been responding to help those in Cape Breton who were impacted by the disaster.
In 2022 volunteers cleared trees and repaired roofs before winter set in. In March, this year, MDS Canada returned to do interior repairs and more roof repairs on about 40 houses in the Glace Bay and Sydney areas.
At this time, we want to say “thanks!” to everyone who volunteered to serve with MDS in Cape Breton, and thanks to the people of Cape Breton who made us feel part of your communities during our time there. We will leave enriched by our experiences with you. Thank-you for letting us be part of your lives.
Stories about MDS in Cape Breton
Volunteers respond to Hurricane Fiona in Glace Bay
Volunteers hard at work in Atlantic Canada after Hurricane Fiona
Old Colony Mennonite Church volunteers see new parts of Canada, help others
Helping people who fall into the gaps in Glace Bay
MDS Canada’s response in Cape Breton is taking place in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.
MDS Canada acknowledges the support of Air Canada, which is offering discounts for volunteers travelling by air to Cape Breton to do Hurricane Fiona recovery work.
Location
Cape Breton Island is a rugged and beautiful part of Canada. Glace Bay, with about 17,000 people, was once a busy coal mining town. The first mines were dug by French colonizers from nearby Louisburg in the 18th century. In 1860, the Glace Bay Mining Company was formed; the first large colliery, the Hub Shaft, opened in 1861. At its high point, there were 14 mines in the oceanside town and 40 percent of all coal in Canada came from Glace Bay. The last mine was closed in 1984.
Stories from the Field
Weekly Reports
Here we are to the end of another week at the Cape Breton Project. But not only the end of the week—also the end of our time here in Cape Breton. The short-term volunteers this week are the Wiens family from Manitoba, and the Strathdees from ON....
A new week and we welcome a new group, this time from Shantz Mennonite Church in Ontario. We continued to work on shingling the roof of Pushpa’s home. It is a steep roof with many peaks and valleys, including dormers. This also included some siding...
The week began with the arrival of youth group from southern Manitoba, then on Monday and Tuesday the arrival of three long-term volunteers to make our number 26 in total. Despite some rain this week, we were able to accomplish good things. Nadine’...