The Honourable Kevin O'Brien, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister Responsible for Emergency Preparedness, today provided the latest information on recovery efforts following Hurricane Igor. While the damages reported were widespread, the Provincial Government continues to advance road work initiatives, repairs to affected municipal infrastructure and move forward the disaster assistance program claims process for affected residents.

"Today marks Day 24 after the devastating impacts of Hurricane Igor and we continue to make remarkable progress in a short period of time," said Minister O'Brien. "Earlier this week the last of the road breaches, which were situated on the Bonavista Peninsula, were reconnected, establishing more familiar access routes to communities. Residents are reminded to keep safety top of mind when travelling through any construction area, reduce speeds, exercise extreme caution, and obey all signage on roadways through storm affected areas."

Residents who have not already begun the process of applying for disaster assistance should note the two initial pages are the most critical and home owners are encouraged to submit these forms as soon as possible. Residents are also reminded this program is not an insurance program and will not cover all items that would normally be covered under an insurance policy.

Minister O'Brien noted that supplementary staff have been hired to help process claims within the agency. In addition numerous structural and environmental engineers, mold abatement firms and property restoration specialists that have been engaged to expedite the process.

"As of today, officials with Fire and Emergency Services — Newfoundland and Labrador have received almost 700 applications for assistance and nearly 600 of these applications have already been assigned to an independent adjuster," said Minister O'Brien. "This program provides for items deemed essential, as explained at our 11 regional information sessions held earlier this month. I encourage residents who have had damage as a result of Hurricane Igor to send in the two initial pages of the application to receive a claim number and begin the process of disaster assistance."

Officials have determined approximately 10 per cent of those applications are not eligible under the program guidelines, which is a figure consistent with previous events. More than 3,000 applications were distributed to municipalities throughout the affected areas in the initial days following the storm and are available through the Hurricane Igor Information hot button on the Provincial Government website - www.gov.nl.ca. Applications can also be obtained by contacting Fire and Emergency Services at 1-888-395-5611.

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Media contact:

Cheryl Gullage
Public Relations Specialist
Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-0857, 631-9962
cherylgullage@gov.nl.ca