Printmaker injured in Pangnirtung storm

KIRSTEN MURPHY

The blizzard that hit Pangnirtung last week was the worst the community has seen in about 25 years, residents say. It drove people from their homes while emergency officials struggled to keep power, phone lines and water running.

Gale force winds exceeding 100 km/h peeled off roofs and sent fuel drums, qamutiit and small boats flying between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Jan. 29. About a dozen vehicle windshields and living room windows were smashed by flying debris. Power and phone lines were down during the three-hour storm.

Environment Canada said the squall brought the strongest winds in recent history.

Not since 1977, when pounding winds blew entire houses apart in Pangnirtung, has Mayor Hezakiah Oshutapik experienced such hostile weather.

“I’m glad we didn’t have to face it any longer than we did,” he said.

Several hundred Pangnirtung residents sought refuge in the gymnasiums of the community’s two schools. RCMP officers, Canadian Rangers and volunteer firefighters shuttled people to the gyms.

Printmaker Andrew Qappik was struck by a piece of wood while attempting to reach one of the gyms. He received 15 stitches to the head and continues to have neck pain.

“I’m recovering. I don’t remember a lot of what happened,” Qappik said from his home.

Litanie Pitsiulak, 24, lit candles in his family’s two-bedroom house and waited for the storm to blow over.

“It was scary. The wind was so loud and the house was shaking,” Pitsiulak said.

Oshutapik was preparing to declare the situation a state of emergency when the winds died down at about 6:30 p.m. The calmer conditions allowed Nunavut Power Corporation employees to clean up power lines and restore electricity.

The overall damage was “considerable” but could have been worse, one police officer observed.

“It’s very fortunate there were no other injuries,” said Cpl. Law Power.

At one point during the blizzard, the only link between Pangnirtung and Nunavut Emergency Services (NES) in Iqaluit was by high-frequency radio.

“The mayor did a fantastic job of keeping us informed,” said Eric Doig, director of NES.

When the blizzard subsided in the early evening, both schools had lost the majority of their gym roofs. The schools were closed Thursday and Friday and re-opened Monday after inspectors deemed the buildings structurally sound.

This week, community members were cleaning up. “Everything is back to normal,” Oshutapik said.