Storm Arthur damage 'as bad as Hurricane Juan'

More than 24,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were still waiting to be reconnected Monday after post-tropical storm Arthur tore through the Maritimes. Some people won't get power back Friday. 

Most of the province along the eastern shore and Cape Breton appear to be back online, but for those in the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore area, it could be late this week before they're reconnected.

NSP tweeted on Monday that customers in western Nova Scotia could be out until Friday night. Central and eastern Nova Scotia customers could wait until Thursday night for a reconnection. 

NSP spokesperson Stacey Pineau said they currently have 106 two-person crews working during the day to restore power and some crews working throughout the night.

"We are not going to rest until we have every customer with their power back."

Another tweet from NSP said the storm damage was as bad as Hurricane Juan and the damage much worse than they thought.

"With some of the winds we had, we saw trees and tree limbs coming down more easily because there was more of sail effect," said Pineau. 

It's all hands on deck and we're doing our very best through some very difficult situations.- Neera Ritcey, NSP

Jenny Collishaw of Canning and her husband have been using a generator since they lost power on Saturday morning. She says they often seem to lose power for prolonged periods.

“Nova Scotia Power, I know that they’re working diligently, and I know that they have crews out, and I know that we had a huge storm, and I certainly appreciate all of the work that crews do, and I know they’ve been working around the clock — but it is frustrating,” she said.

Neera Ritcey, a spokesperson for NSP said they are hoping to bring in other crews from eastern Nova Scotia to help repair the damage in the western part of the province.  

“We absolutely understand the frustration this is causing, particularly to those customers that are still without power," said Ritcey.

"As we know, there was a lot of talk about the arrival of the first tropical storm of the season and it sure came, and it certainly took a big toll — not just on Nova Scotia, but the Atlantic region and the neighbouring provinces as well. It really is our first priority right now. Crews have been working very, very diligently. It’s all hands on deck and we're doing our very best through some very difficult situations.”

Other parts of the Maritimes got off easy.

Nancy Sampson of L'Ardoise in Cape Breton said there was a small shower Saturday morning.

"And then the sun came out and we had a beautiful sunny day with a fresh breeze from the south," she said.