Hurricane Juan - A City Blown Apart

Hurricane Juan made landfall just after midnight on September 29, 2003. I lived on Windmill Road in Dartmouth with my husband Simon at the time, in Harbourshore Acres Apartments which was right on Halifax Harbour.  Our apartment's balcony faced the harbour looking towards Bedford Basin.  This is the view from our balcony on a calm evening:

I was in bed when I was awakened by a phone call from my mother about 1am. She couldn't believe I was sleeping through a hurricane. We went out on the balcony to see the storm. Our balcony was on the lee side of the building but we could see the rain basically going horizontal over the top of the building. The harbour was in major turmoil. We could see power transformers blowing all over the city. Soon the city was dark.  The wind made the most incredible roar I've ever heard.  

About an hour into the storm I was talking to my mother on the phone again when there was a huge crash out in the hallway. The fire alarms started going off as well, and we could hear panicked voices out in the hallway. I opened the door and discovered the roof had caved in at the end of the hallway.

Our neighbour told us to get out quickly. Water pipes had broken and water was flowing down the hall into our apartment. I couldn't find the cat carrier so I put the cats in a clothes basket.  Tico, our Alexandrine Parakeet, had to stay behind as her cage was too big to take with us.  We made sure she had plenty of food and water, and then we headed for the garage where our car was. 

Out in the hallway, our neighbour Marg was standing there holding her cat saying she didn't know what to do as she had no car and nowhere to go.  I told her to come with us, and she could come to my mother's with us until she could get in contact with her daughter and figure out where she was going to stay.

We were on the third floor, so we all went down to the second floor to get to the garage since our hallway was blocked. As I was nearing the garage, water was pouring on top of my head and I was in water up to my ankles. We made it to the garage and discovered that the door would not open because the power was out. A couple of guys broke the chain on the garage door and forced it open. We left, heading for my mother's which was on the other side of Bedford Basin, about a 15-minute drive away. The drive to her house was scary to say the least. We had to dodge fallen down trees and broken power lines. Debris was flying through the air and landing in front of our car. A full-sized tree blew in front our our path as well. The city was in complete darkness. We finally reached my mother's and were safe.

The following day I ventured out and explored the city to see the damage. It was unbelieveable. Trains were tossed off their tracks. Roofs were blown off of houses. Trees were blown down, some on top of houses and cars. Boats were tossed from the harbour up onto people's lawns and some were sunk.

We returned to our building to see if we could get in and to check out the damage in daylight.  This is the front lawn of our apartment building.  All of the trees were blown forward.

Here is where the major damage occurred.

This is our apartment.  We could hear Tico in there screeching away from inside.  However we were not allowed to enter the building yet as they had to make sure it was safe.

The following group of pics were all taken on or nearby Windmill Road.

This was flooding on the Bedford Highway.

This is the Halifax Ferry Terminal.  The windows were blown out.

South Street clean up.

A lot of trees fell in the Old Burying Ground at the corner of Spring Garden Rd. and Barrington St.  The Old Burying Ground is the oldest cemetery in Halifax.  It became a cemetery in 1749, the same year that Halifax was founded.  Many of Halifax's earliest settlers are buried here, and it was used for about 100 years.

The Public Gardens didn't escape the storm's wrath either.  The Gardens remained closed to the public until July 1, 2004.

The image below is the Army doing clean-up in Camp Hill Cemetery.  Some Wikipedia info about Camp Hill Cemetery:

"As a cemetery in the provincial capital, Camp Hill became the final resting place for many of Nova Scotia's elite. Officials did allow for the burial of black Canadians, albeit in a segregated section of the cemetery. In the 1990s it was pointed out that the graves of African-Canadian veterans of World War I, unlike other white Canadian veterans, were marked by nothing more than flat white stones. This situation has since been rectified by the federal department of Veterans Affairs.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the war graves of 10 service personnel of World War I and over 80 of World War II.

There are also 17 graves of Norwegian sailors, soldiers and merchant seamen in Camp Hill Cemetery who died in Nova Scotia during World War II. These men were at sea when Germany invaded Norway in 1940. The King and government of Norway ordered the more than 1,000 ships at sea to go to allied ports."

The next image is also in front of Camp Hill Cemetery.  It is actually directly across the street from Camp Hill Hospital.  A paramedic lost his life here when a tree fell on his ambulance.

The next couple of images are from South End Halifax.

The following images are taken in North End Halifax, and shows the backyard of my grandmother's house on Merson Avenue.  For the first image I was standing in her neighbour's backyard.

For this image I am standing in my grandmother's backyard, shooting towards her other neighbour's house on the opposite side.

What do people do after a big weather event?  Go to Tim Horton's of course!  I think this was the only Tim Hortons for miles that had power.  The line up went all the way down Lady Hammond Road.

After visiting my grandmother we decided to drive back to our apartment building and see if we could get in. Security guards were there preventing anyone from going in, mainly to prevent people from looting.  There is also significant structural damage to the building and for safety reasons that part of the building was off-limits to everyone.  Once we showed ID to prove our address, a security guard escorted us to our apartment so we could collect some things and our bird, Tico.

Below is a view of the collapsed part of the building.  Our apartment only sustained water damage, but the whole wing was condemned because of the damage and had to be rebuilt. Unfortunately we had to find a new place to live because it was going to take many months to rebuild that wing of the building.

Below are some images around our neighbourhood:

This is Kelly's Deli on Wyse Road, which used to be a Harvey's.

This is the parking attendant booth behind the building where I worked (Portland St.).

Note to Self:  Don't park under huge trees during a hurricane!

We found a new flat to rent in North End Halifax.  We received insurance funds for our water-damaged goods.  This is one hurricane I will NEVER forget.

Keji Backcountry Canoe Trip - Big Dam, Frozen Ocean & Channel Lake

Saturday, August 30, 2003

My boss (but also good friend) Krista, her husband Rick, Simon and I embarked on a backcountry canoe camping trip at Kejimkujik National Park, on one of my favourite routes.  There are two long stillwaters on this route, as you can see in the map below.  I just love paddling stillwaters - I much prefer them over the bigger lakes as there is so much more to see, like turtles, frogs, and pitcher plants on the shores.  The red dotted route is the actual route we followed, and x2 and x3 are our two campsites, Site 6 and Site 9.  The car is parked at x1, and then it's a very short portage to Big Dam Lake.

We got on the water at 9:48 a.m.  The first day of the trip we had crappy weather, but there was no wind and it was warm, so we didn't mind a bit.  There's nothing like paddling on a lake when it's like glass.

The second portage is 800m but a nice trail with easy walking.  For portages we always make two trips....one trip with the canoe, paddles, life jackets, camera, etc., then we walk back and get our packs.  It is impossible to carry the canoe (it's a Cumberland Canoe and weighs about 80lbs) and a pack at the same time - it's just too much weight.  We would take turns on the portages, switching carrying the canoe and the packs to give each other's shoulders a break.  On the long portages Keji has put canoe rests which are big help.

This is me paddling down Still Brook, with Rick and Krista following close behind.

Rick and Krista took a break on one of the portages, and now they're getting ready to hoist the canoe over their heads to carry on to Frozen Ocean Lake.

Just after putting in at Frozen Ocean.  Now we're ready to paddle directly to our first campsite, Site 9 (x3 on the map), on Channel Lake.

We reached Site 9 at 4:39 p.m. 

We got our tents set up and then had some Kraft Dinner for supper.  We were pretty hungry after all day of paddling and portaging.

Once we had supper I went for a wander around with my camera.  One thing that I love about Keji is that there is an abundance of flora and fauna, and everything to do with nature is beautiful to me.  Fungi, bugs, frogs and toads, cool-looking trees, all become captivating subjects that I love to photograph.

This white birch tree is actually four trees in one.  At the base it is one tree which split into four separate trees as it grew.

There are a ton of toads at Keji.  You have to be careful that you don't step on them on portages.

It was a beautiful evening on Channel Lake. The sky started to clear, and there was a beautiful sunset. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight"...tomorrow's weather was looking very promising!

After supper we relaxed around the campfire for a bit, but we all retired early as we were exhausted.  Isn't it cool how this wood is burning...the fire is coming out of the centers of the logs.

Sunday, August 31, 2003

All packed up and back in the canoes by 10:13 a.m.  We are paddling back the way we came yesterday, but this time we are stopping at Site 6 for the night (one of my favourite sites).  It's a beautiful day, and no wind makes padding easy and very enjoyable.

All of a sudden panic in the Attwood canoe!!!  Krista is freaking out, and I knew there must have been a spider or something in her canoe as she got her feet up on the gunwales.  We got up close to them to see what it was.....

Just a cute little shrew. lol

In this photo we are back at Portage T, which is a short one, only 130m.

This little Pickerel Frog was on the shore where we landed.

 Some cool fungi along this portage:

We arrived at Site 6 around noon, got set up and then I went exploring around again.

This tree was giant, and it was really cool.  It looked like a giant hand with fingers.

I came back to the campsite and caught Krista being naughty...she was washing her bowl in the lake.  See her trying to hide it from me? lol

Our friends Greg and Nancy were staying on the other side of Frozen Ocean, and they paddled over to join us at the campfire.

Below is them padding off into the sunset, heading back across the lake to their campsite.

 It was a beautiful evening so we decided to go for a paddle.

Krista in the warm glow of the evening sun.

Beautiful sunset on Frozen Ocean Lake.  What a perfect evening!

Back at our camp site, and the sun has just disappeared behind the trees.

Monday, September 1, 2003

The next morning the water was like glass and had a fine mist over it.  I took the canoe and went for a paddle by myself. 

It's easy to paddle solo when the water is like this.

Shortly after my little paddle we packed up and headed for home.

Despite a rainy start to our trip, the rest of the weekend was incredible weather.  The best thing about camping in late August/early September is there are very few bugs.  Spring in Keji can be brutal - ideal blackfly and mosquito breeding grounds here with all this water.

Police Chase and Car Crash

I was awakened at 6am this morning by the sound of a big "whoosh" and then a huge bang. It nearly blew me out of bed the bang was so loud. At first I thought something blew up at NS Power. Then I heard my husband's voice out on the balcony, hollering to policemen down in the parking lot to the building next door. He was directing the police to where a male teenager was running from the parking lot to the tracks down over the hill. Two policemen went running after him and another, in a car, flipped on lights and siren and went roaring out of the parking lot (probably to the next street down to cut him off.)

Then I saw the cause of the huge bang - a green Chevy Beretta was smashed into a rock at the edge of the parking lot. The roof was crumpled and the left front wheel was pushed back almost to the driver's door. The air bag had deployed, and the windshield was smashed.

Simon said after he heard the bang, he went out to the balcony to look and see what happened. He saw the car and smoke coming out from its engine, but no driver. Then a security guard ran up to the car and turned the engine off. Si then saw the security guard talking on his cell phone, so he must have called the police. The driver was nowhere to be seen. Just before the police arrived, Si saw the teenager run from the bushes back to the smashed car to retrieve something. Then he ran off towards the tracks, and that's exactly when the police arrived and Simon yelled down to them to direct them as to which way he went.

I heard two policemen talking, and I heard one of them say "up to 104 miles per hour" so I think what happened was they were chasing this guy, and he ducked down a side street, not realizing it was a deadend, to lose the police. When he came to the dead end, either he couldn't stop in time or he just crashed the car intentionally and bailed. He probably had drugs in the car - that's what he probably went back to retrieve when he figured he successfully lost the police (for a few minutes). Below are some pics of the scene, but there were bushy trees in between so you can't see too many details.

Mountain Bike Crash

June 2003 (Shubie Park):

My ex (Si) and I decided to go night-riding our bikes in Shubie Park. We both had headlights and tail-lights on our bikes, but they are more so you can "be seen" rather than help you see in the dark. Anyway, we were having a great time tearing around the trails in the dark. I was in the lead, and was bombing down this hill when all of a sudden I hit a deep washout and did a complete endo. The front wheel slammed into the opposite side of the gully and totally chucked me over the handle bars. I slammed into the crushed gravel on the opposite side like a sack of potatoes. Then the bike landed on top of me. Hands, knees and elbows all hit the dirt, and I had nasty road rash and bruises on all but my hands - my bike gloves saved my hands. The story doesn't end here.

Si was riding only a few feet behind me. He saw my tail-light go up in the air but it was too late for him to stop...he slammed into the gully and crashed into me. The steering stem of the bike got him between the legs and he was in a lot of pain. We were both laying on the ground moaning and writhing in pain. After a few minutes I got a major attack of the giggles - I just couldn't stop laughing...then he started laughing too. After we got ourselves composed and brushed off and concluded there were no broken bones, we checked over the bikes. Mine was okay, but Si's was toast. His forks were bent, rim bent and tire flat. So we walked them out. That was a good excuse for him to upgrade the bike to beefier shocks and disk brakes. I sold my Iron Horse about four years ago, but I bought Si's bike from him in 2012.

75 Gallon Fish Tank Lets Go in the Middle of the Night

At 3am on January 16, 2003 we were awakened by someone pounding on our door. It was the superintendent and a maintenance guy. They said someone down on the first floor was having a flood coming from up above and they thought a pipe burst. They sawed open the walls in her apartment to find the pipes intact. Then they went to the 2nd floor apartment, and they could see water was still coming through the ceiling from up above. That's when they came to our place. When we went into the living room we found our 75 gallon fish tank 99% empty and the fish flipping around on the gravel. We got the fish into buckets and saved all but one of them.

We hauled out the 33 gallon aquarium from the storage room (mind you it was buried behind boxes and junk piled up to the ceiling), set it up and got the gravel from the other tank into it, got the filter up and running and put the fish in it. When we left for work this morning all were still alive and appeared to be doing well. We examined the big tank for damage and couldn't see anything obvious... it was really bizarre. I was expecting to see a big crack or something, but nothing. Everything looked perfect. We poured a little more water in so we could see where it was leaking from, and the leak was very obviously coming from the bottom right side of the tank. The only thing we can figure is that the silicone let go. You'd think a silicone fault would be a slow leak though, one that would be noticed by a falling water level and we'd be able to drain it before any major damage occurred. Not this one though... when it let go it really let go. Everything was fine when we turned off the light in the tank and went to bed at about 1am. It was 3am when Carolyn banged on the door so within 2 hours the entire 75 gallons was out of the tank. Luckily, we have tenant insurance that covers this. That fish tank is only 6 months old and was bought brand new from Pets Unlimited.

Carolyn and Jackie (the supers) came back down to our apartment around 4am and brought us a wet vac. My neighbours must have loved me - vacuuming at 4am. They were really good about it though, saying it's not our fault and not to worry. They were really shocked all that water came from a fish tank though.

The stress that I endured this morning has put another nail in my coffin I think. I've been up since 3am and I'm fighting to keep my eyes open and I just got to work.

I told one of the lawyers I work for what happened and her eyebrows were raising up as she said "hmmm.... product liability suit". Since my insurance is covering it though I'm not going through any lawsuits. Jackie is having cleaners come in today to clean the carpet and those of the other people.

I'll be having a nice nap when I get home from work this evening!

UPDATE:

After about a week went by, we got served with papers that we were being sued. Our insurance company went to court for us, and named Pets Unlimited as a third party. We had to go to court and testify. The case ended up getting dismissed as the apartment building people did not bring receipts to prove the damages they were claiming. They did however amend their tenant's policy to include a line that states "no fish tanks over 10 gallons allowed." Can't blame them really.

Pets Unlimited contacted the manufacturer of the fish tank, who asked us to look for a sticker on the tank with a number that identifies the employee who did the siliconing. After we provided the number, the company told us that that employee had been fired months before this happened to us, for poor workmanship. Pets Unlimited offered us our money back, or a really good deal if we wanted another tank or a different pet. We opted to get an Alexandrine Parakeet and cage as a replacement since we were not allowed to have fish tanks anymore, and after this incident I didn't really want one anyway.

Here is the tank after it was drained.

Here is the corner with the breached silicone.