'Certainly an eye-opener': Premier Ball visits Trout River in wake of state of emergency

Premier Dwight Ball visited Trout River on Tuesday for a first-hand look at the destruction caused to the town by extreme winds and heavy wave activity from the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.

On Monday afternoon the town issued a state of emergency.

"It's certainly an eye-opener when you look at the video. But, being on the ground today, when you look at it, when you look at the power of the ocean, the damage it can do in a short period of time, we just want to prepare the community to prevent this kind of damage in the future," Ball told CBC News.

The Department of Municipal Affairs will be inthe town Wednesday to assess the damage that has taken place, but also to figure out how to prevent further damage from happening.

Trout River falls under Ball's districtas MHAof Humber-Gros Morne.

Over the last two years Trout River has experienced three extreme weather systems, said Ball.

This year will be the third time the province will have had to repairthe community's boardwalk after it was damaged by high winds and a rough ocean.

Ball said the armour stone, used for buildingretaining walls, constructed just last year has held up but has still suffered some damage underneath.

"There was a lot of discussion today about how the money we're using to mitigate and repair some of the damage, how that could be used for other areas of this community as well," he said.

"But we had to respond. We just can't leave them by themselves."

The premier said therewas a lot of conversation about climate change in the community today, withthe recent weather anexample of that.

Ball said it's too early to put a dollar figure on the damage.

He said he spoke with consultants, the Department of Municipal Affairs and the town to make sure the remedy is co-ordinated.

"That will lead into the estimates of what would be required to actually put in place a long-term plan for the community of Trout River."

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador