Date: January 11, 2013

Location: Holyrood

Easting:

Northing:

Latitude: 47° 23′ 00″ N

Longitude: 53° 08′ 00″ W

Fatalities: 0

Injuries: 0

Source: CBC website, January 15, 2013

The town of Holyrood has a major cleanup on its hands due to a storm surge that accompanied last Friday’s blizzard. Fifty centimetres of snow was dumped on the Conception Bay town, along with hurricane-force winds which pushed surges of water toward shore.

“We could see the waves coming in here upwards of 10 to 12 feet high,” said Holyrood Mayor Gary Goobie. “So I knew, looking out through the window, that this was going to be significant.”

Huge waves dropped rocks – some up to 30 centimetres in diameter – trees and other debris over the town’s boardwalk, across a couple of roads, and into a river which runs through the town.

“If you look at the main beach in Holyrood now, it’s like somebody cut down a forest,” said Gary Corbett, the town’s chief administrative officer. “It’s covered with trees all over the beach boardwalk, right to the road.”

Sections of the boardwalk were either destroyed or completely covered in debris. The surge also damaged a wharf belonging to the Marine Institute, as well as a former fish plant building and wharf. In addition to the infrastructure damage, residents reported that several hundred small birds, known as dovekies, were killed during the storm.

Goobie said the town wants to repair the damage caused by the storm surge, but engineers need to assess the damage to embankments and infrastructure along the coastline before he can even guess at a price tag for the repairs. “It’s pretty significant. I don’t know what the cost is right now,” admitted Goobie. “We’ll have to wait for the engineers to determine that.”

In the meantime, town officials have asked people to stay away from the damaged area.

Storm surge damage to the boardwalk along the coast at Holyrood, January 2013. Source: CBC website January 15, 2013.

Park, beach and boardwalk in Holyrood damaged by last week’s winter storm and storm surge. Lots of debris and damage.

Source: #cbcnl pbs.twimg.com/media/BAqWjInCAAE45VU.jbg