Churches spring into action during ice storm devastation
Barriers crumble as people band together to survive
By Ginette Cotnoir • Special to ChristianWeek
MONTREAL–The week-long "ice storm of the century" caused unprecedented damage and elicited high levels of community spirit in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. In Quebec alone, the storm left 1.4 million homes without power, and many also without telephone service or drinkable water. The ground was littered with broken trees, collapsed electrical and radio towers and more than 23,000 toppled wooden hydro poles. A reported 24 people died as a result of the devastating storm.
It will take weeks to restore power completely in some areas, months to rebuild the electrical installations, and years before the landscape recovers. The long-term human and spiritual effects, however, are more difficult to judge.
In storm-ravaged regions people spontaneously helped one another. In most church communities an informal network took over; those with electricity or wood-burning stoves hosted those without. When power failures persisted, families and friends shared the contents of thawing freezers and potlucks turned into feasts.
