The effects of the twin storms

In Cap-aux-Meules, considered the downtown core of the islands, a chunk has been taken out of a popular coastal path, as well as part of a parking lot.

It has happened before, sections receding inland slowly. But this time, the land gave way in a matter of hours, with the erosion occurring dangerously close to the region's only hospital.

The Magdalen Islands aren't typically hit with big storms in September. The hurricanes that batter the coasts of Florida and the Carolinas are usually so weakened by the time they spin this far north, local residents would hardly call them storms.

Residents say things have changed that.

"With Dorian, it was the strength of the winds," said Serge Bourgeois, who has been the director of urban planning for the Magdalen Islands for the past 30 years.

"I think that sustained winds up to 130 kilometres for hours on end had a huge impact."

Sand dunes, like those at Cormier's cottage and along the islands' eastern coast, were completely destroyed during Dorian.

But the damage was far worse because of a storm that hit just nine months earlier.

After Dorian, a chunk of a popular coastal path as well as part of parking lot in the downtown core crumbled. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC) Post image on Pinterest: After Dorian, a chunk of a popular coastal path as well as part of parking lot in the downtown core crumbled. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

After Dorian, a chunk of a popular coastal path as well as part of parking lot in the downtown core crumbled. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

On Nov. 28, 2018, a heavy windstorm struck, knocking down power lines and damaging underwater fibre-optic cables that provide phone and internet service to the islands' residents.



"The coastlines — in particular, the sand dunes — have not had the time to recover and reform. Natural systems reform eventually when they are not too bothered," Bourgeois said.

"But we had the storm in November that weakened the coastlines. And we had Dorian, which came and weakened them even more."

Add to that the effects of climate change already being felt in the archipelago.

"The two major points about climate change are sea level rise and the ice cover reduction," said Christian Fraser, a research chair on coastal geoscience and a member of UQAR's laboratory of dynamics and integrated coastal zone management.

"The last storms were similar to storms 30 or 40 years ago, but the waves reach higher on the coast because sea level is rising four millimetres per year in the archipelago."

Route 199 connects the islands together, but it lies on sand dunes, vulnerable to erosion. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC) Post image on Pinterest: Route 199 connects the islands together, but it lies on sand dunes, vulnerable to erosion. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

Route 199 connects the islands together, but it lies on sand dunes, vulnerable to erosion. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

Near Pointe-aux-Loups, on the archipelago's north side, the shoulder of Route 199 doesn't exist anymore. Instead, orange cones warn drivers of a crumbling roadside.



Route 199 stretches from the northeastern tip of the island in Grande-Entrée, all the way to Île du Havre Aubert in the south. But much of the road lies on sand dunes.

"Route 199 is the principal road which links all the villages together to the main island, where all the services are," said Rose Elmonde Clark, a lifelong Madelinot and the mayor of Grosse-Île.



"The hospital, the [health centre], the police station and all the major services and industries are there."

Route 199 is also dotted with hydro poles, supplying most of the islands with electricity coming from the plant in Cap-aux-Meules.

The road is maintained by Quebec's transport ministry and residents are used to seeing crews at work, reinforcing the sides of the dunes with large rocks.

But sometimes that reinforcement isn't enough.

This road in Portage-du-Cap succumbed to erosion and has been left to crumble. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC) Post image on Pinterest: This road in Portage-du-Cap succumbed to erosion and has been left to crumble. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

This road in Portage-du-Cap succumbed to erosion and has been left to crumble. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

About 20 years ago, the municipality had to close a secondary coastal road in Portage-du-Cap. Parts of it are still visible, a yellow dotted line broken up where chunks of land have caved in.



The present-day Route 199 isn't the first version of that road either. Half a decade ago, another road existed but that, too, succumbed to erosion.

"I would say that 30 years ago, the land definitely was receding but it wasn't so visible, so obvious," said Bourgeois.

"Today we have these huge storms and we can see, with one single storm, that we have lost metres of land in a few hours."

Research into that erosion is made all the more difficult by the unpredictability of the storms. Across the islands, UQAR researchers have placed wooden stakes, as well as other tools to monitor the rate of erosion.

"The 2018 and 2019 storms have strongly impacted the islands," said Fraser, noting researchers are still analyzing the data from these events.

Bourgeois says he worries about the storms yet to come, as the islands are in a vulnerable state.