Newfoundland's fishing towns were built to survive, butFiona changed the game

For generations, Cory Munden's family has beenbuilding and living on the same piece of oceanside land in thesouthwestern Newfoundland town of Port aux Basques.

The town is a former fishing village, and like many of the housesdestroyed by post-tropical stormFionaon the morning of Sept. 24,the Munden family home was built by fishers. The land on which itstood was bought by Munden's fisherman grandfather because it was close to where he worked, and it was protected by an offshoreisland.

For 70 years, the houses on that land withstood the worst weatherNewfoundland had to offer.

ThenFionahit.

Munden is now among those who worry storms likeFiona forecastto become more frequent as the climate changes will change the face of Newfoundland for good, wiping away its historic,weather-hardened fishing communities one by one.

"All of the traditional living-near-the-ocean spots, those areall old properties that dated back since the dawn of time, right?"Munden said."That's where all the fishermensettled."

The Island of Newfoundland is rocky, rough and unforgiving. Mostof its communities are former fishing villages, tucked away intocoves, bights and bays along the coastline.

WATCH: Drone's-eye view of Fiona's damage in Port aux Basques

Drone video shows devastation in Port aux Basques, N.L.

2 years ago

Duration 0:53

Footage shot over Port aux Basques, N.L., shows the damage caused by post-tropical storm Fiona.

"They settled in these secluded places because they were awareof the power of the ocean," said Andrea O'Brien, the HeritageFoundation of Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial registrar."They built their homes far enough back from the high tide and fromany kind of storm surges so their homes will be protected."

Fionaupended centuries of that wisdom in a single morning, shesaid. Looking to the future, O'Brien said she's particularlyconcerned about the fishing stages that often dot the waterside inthese communities. A fishing stage is a shed-like building oftensitting atop a platform that reaches out over the water, held up bywooden posts. Fishermen would unload their catches there, splittingtheir fish on sturdy wooden tables.

Colourful fishing sheds have come to define the province'shistoric allure; they're easy to spot in tourism ads. O'Brien saidshe doesn't know how they'll ever withstand storms likeFiona.

"I think with those buildings gone, it really does change theface of how this place has been for centuries," she said, addingthat she's not sure what, if anything, can be done about it.

Munden points to the dormant fishing community of Petites, about 40 kilometres east of Port aux Basques along Newfoundland'sremote southern shore.

Petites was resettled by the provincial government nearly twodecades ago. Before then and before the 1992 cod moratorium thatput an end to many of these communities' local economies the townhad been home to fishers since the mid-1800s.

Fionadestroyed buildings and stages in Petites that hadwithstood more than 100 years of ferocious Newfoundland storms, Mundensaid.

"That was a sheltered harbour," he said. "And thisFionastorm came in and levelled it."

Port aux Basques was settled year-round in the 1700s, and it wasa thriving fishing town until the 1992 moratorium. The community isnow home to about 3,500 people, down from about 4,000 people fiveyears ago. BeforeFionaplunged it into the headlines, it wasperhaps best known as the place to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia.

A narrow island sits just offshore from the town's most denselypopulated area. UntilFionahit, the island shielded those homesfrom the sea for centuries.

Munden said he worries for those whose homes are still standingbut could be hit by the next big storm. Like many whose homes weredestroyed by storm surge, his family was denied any insurancecoverage for their loss. Storm surge coverage isn't an option withmost insurers.

"I mean, what are we going to do, we're going to move everyproperty that's on coastal water? That's impossible," he said."People need protection from these type of events. We can't leavethem high and dry like this."

Amanda Dean, the Insurance Bureau of Canada's Atlanticvice-president, says insurance providers want to partner with thefederal government on a program to cover those whose homes are nowin harm's way as the climate changes.

That should happen alongside discussions about where peopleshould build in the future, Dean said.

"Just because we've been building in a certain way for severalhundreds of years doesn't mean that that's necessarily the way weshould be building going forward," she said. "It's an awfullytough conversation to have."

Meanwhile, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announcedplans Tuesday nightto help those on the southwest coast denied bytheir insurance companies. The aid includes compensation for theland on which destroyed houses stood, or help finding a new lot torebuild on.

Munden said some are simply moving away.

"It's changed the community, it's changed the landscape, andit's going to change the dynamics," he said.

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