Thread by @CBCNL

RNC Const. James Cadigan says police currently working on a coordinated shift change. Officers are snowshoeing to meeting points, where 4-wheel drive vehicles will meet them to get them to work.

Coordinating with plow operations as well to make this happen.

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This is the first opportunity they’ve had for this, so asking people to really adhere to the declared state of emergency and stay off the roads.

@RNC_PoliceNL able to respond to emergencies, but shift change will take a couple hours.

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Cadigan says not to take the risk of getting yourself stuck somewhere you’ll need emergency response to help you out.

He also says best thing people can do is to check in on neighbours, people you know.

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Now we’ve got an update from @PremierofNL from about 1:30 p.m. NT:

Since about 5 a.m. crews “back, deployed and working to open up some of the” major roadways.

Drifts up to 15 ft.

“These are in regular sections of the highway,” says Ball.

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“It takes special equipment to open up those centres,” says Ball, with focus on opening major routes. Health-care is big focus too, power outages “and bringing the resources into the community to gather and get people moving again,” says Ball.

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Ball says “it’s a significant challenge ... in this province, there is no question this is one for the history books. We have not seen anything like this in recent memory.”

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“And when we talk to people around the province for quite some time, nobody can point to or share a story that is anything close to this,” the premier adds.

So clean-up has started, and everyone is working together which is so important, Ball says.

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Ball says he’s at the 511 dispatch centre and they’re getting a number of calls “from seniors who feel stranded,” because they can’t get out of their homes. Just in case of an emergency, they want peace of mind knowing they can get out.

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“So we’re working on a number of solutions to support people in those situations,” says Ball. Getting equipment out, routes opened up, essential staff changed over, power back on. He says roughly 26,000 customers without power.

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Ball says the big focus is getting all these resources in place to get this stuff done, especially with the “significant drifting that has occurred in the province.”

“This is one for the history books.l

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He says it really is “unprecedented,” and there’s a lot of collaboration. “All the provinces have reached out, talked to the federal minister Bill Blair - we’re working now to see what role they can play to support the province at this time.”

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“We know the magnitude of this storm, this is going to take time,” says Ball.

So they’re asking for patience, continue to check on each other. Seeing a lot of necessary cooperation.

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Mayor of @TownofCBS Terry French says state of emergency continuing into tomorrow for that community as well. Working on clean-up, have additional equipment from contractors on the go.

“I don’t know if we need to call in the army, personally,” he says.

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Meteorologist @ryansnoddon says “what a storm, unbelievable.”

“Big storms in the decade I was there, but nothing touches this one.”

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Looking at temperatures it’s a cold clean-up, says Snoddon. Wind gusts are still high, looking at up to 160 km/hr in Grates Cove.

Daytime hours tomorrow will be snow-free, temps in minus 6 range, low wind.

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BUT THEN! Looking at about 10-15 cm of snow in a system coming Sunday night, and then a mix to more of a drizzle on top of that by the time we get to Monday morning, says Snoddon.

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Premier Ball says some communities have measured up to 90 cm of snow.

Still focusing on keeping people inside so crews can get major routes opened up to get essential personnel to and from work.

He says some people have been working since 7am yesterday.

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Ball says talking to department of education, all provincial government departments, municipalities to figure out what Monday will look like.

Needs to be safe for volume of traffic, but understanding people want to get out and about.

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“We must make sure that our streets are ready,” before that level of activity can begin, says Ball.

Says 511 will have most up-to-date info on status of roads.

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Ball notes some major routes are clear, but then ramps aren’t. So important for people to check BEFORE they head out, if they have an absolute need to get to work/home.

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Ball says still working with federal dept as well in terms of figuring out what help the province may need, coordinating with communities to determine priorities.

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The premier is in Deer Lake at the province’s 511 dispatch centre.

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Meteorology @ryansnoddon says the highest recorded gust in this blizzard was 171 km/hr, and hurricane-force winds for 7 hours straight at Bonavista. And 17 hours of more than 100 km/hr.

Wow.

#NLblizzard

*meteorologist

Snoddon says storm surge still a concern as it’s high tide right now, in some places roads are full of rocks brought in by major surges.

That was a 24-hour storm, and the snowfall record for 24-hours was broken yesterday with 76 cm recorded at #YYT

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He says 90 cm of snow recorded in @Mount_Pearl, which is right next door to @CityofStJohns.

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Here’s more detail on the state of emergency in @townofparadise. Still in place with an update for noon tomorrow, and everyone must stay off the roads.

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