This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Canadian soldiers have arrived in Newfoundland to help the province clear up after a massive blizzard over the weekend, as residents grow restless about restrictions on travel and closed businesses.

By Sunday night, nearly 200 soldiers had arrived after Dwight Ball, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador province, requested federal help. The move underscored the immense challenges communities face in clearing snow that has blocked residents from leaving their houses and accessing their vehicles.

Soldiers have been tasked with clearing roads, freeing trapped residents and assisting ill and elderly people.

A massive storm, known as “Stormageddon”, pummelled the Atlantic province on Friday and Saturday, dumping more than 75cm (29.5in) of snow in the province’s capital, St John’s, with gusts of winds reaching 150km/h (93mph). The resulting drifts buried cars and houses, paralysing much of the region.

In a widely circulated video clip, a reporter from CBC News was knocked over by powerful gusts of wind while providing updates on the storm.

Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) .@MurphTWN gets hit by a gust of wind in St.John’s, as a raging blizzard brings eastern Newfoundland to a standstill (He's OK). Read the lastest about the storm here: https://t.co/TzvbyqyXOJ pic.twitter.com/NV1MFHfws7

Others had more novel interactions with the record-breaking weather.

“The snow is piled up so hard against my door the doorbell actually just rang,” the freelance journalist Jason Sheppard tweeted on Saturday.

In a province well-versed in battling harsh weather, a state of emergency was declared in numerous communities, including St John’s – the first in 36 years. The law requires cars stay off the roads and businesses to remain closed. More snow on Sunday evening kept the emergency in effect.

“You’re not being forgotten,” St John’s mayor, Danny Breen, told the public. But Breen also said that fines of up to $5,000 (£2,950) would be handed out on Monday for anyone who violated the rules. Grocery stories are expected to reopen on Tuesday, but restaurants and bars will remain closed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A snowboarder takes advantage of conditions in St John’s after the storm forced vehicles to stay off the roads. Photograph: Canadian Press/Rex/Shutterstock

While some have vented frustration at being unable to buy groceries or fuel, suggesting they would gladly accept the fines in order to travel, others have tried to make the best of the events. The steep hills of central St John’s have been transformed into ski slopes, with snowboarders carving past snowed-in cars and and using the roofs of buildings for jumps.

Two deaths were recorded in the town of Harbour Grace. Bud Chafe and Rupert Crocker died after shovelling snow outside their houses.

On Monday, rescue crews resumed their search for Josh Wall, 26, who went missing on Friday while walking to a friend’s house. Efforts to find Wall were put on hold over the weekend because of the weather.