The Canadian government has set up a C$300 million ($220.4 million) fund to help Atlantic provinces and parts of Quebec recover from destruction left behind by storm Fiona last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
Fiona, one of the worst storms to ever hit Canada, battered the country's east coast, tossing homes into the sea, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands and killing at least three people.
"This funding will support projects to repair and rebuild storm damaged critical infrastructure ... help local businesses and communities rebuild and recover," Trudeau told reporters in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Officials have said it could take months before infrastructure can be fully restored. On Tuesday morning, over 13,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were still without power.
The Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund would provide up to C$300 million over two years and provide support for costs not covered by other federal programs, the government said in a statement.
"Whether it be federal infrastructures, whether it be community infrastructure, whether it be people who are facing challenges from uninsured structural damage in their homes, we are there to help out," Trudeau said.
DBRS credit rating agency has said the storm could result in record insured losses for the Atlantic provinces, putting the initial estimate at between C$300 million and C$700 million.
($1 = 1.3609 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
