(Adds death of woman, PEI, Newfoundland requested aid from armed forces, a comment from Port au Basques resident and police in Nova Scotia)
By John Morris
PORT AUX BASQUES, Newfoundland, Sept 25 (Reuters) - It will take several months for Canada to restore critical infrastructure after the powerful storm Fiona left an "unprecedented" trail of destruction, officials said on Sunday, as crews fanned out in five provinces to restore power and clean up fallen trees and debris.
One 73-year-old woman died during the storm in Port aux Basques, one of the hardest hit towns on the southwest tip of Newfoundland with just over 4,000 residents, police said.
"The woman was last seen inside (her) residence just moments before a wave struck the home, tearing away a portion of the basement," police said earlier. The coast guard and local rescuers recovered her body from the ocean on Sunday afternoon, according to a statement.
Port aux Basques is "like a complete war zone," said Brian Button, mayor of Port aux Basques. More than 20 homes were destroyed and more than 200 people need shelter. The cost of damages "is in the millions (of dollars) here now," Button said in an interview.
"We're going to be months rebuilding. I think months is a conservative estimate for some of these people," Rosalyn Roy, a resident of Port aux Basques, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Fiona slammed
into eastern Canada on Saturday, forcing evacuations as wind gusts reached up to 170 km per hour (106 miles per hour) and the storm surge swallowed up homes on the coastline.
While the full scale of Fiona's devastation is not immediately clear, the storm could prove to be one of Canada's costliest natural disasters.
Scientists have not yet determined whether climate change influenced Fiona, but in general the warming of the planet is making hurricanes wetter, windier and altogether more intense.
Canada's federal government is sending in the armed forces on Sunday to help clear fallen trees and debris, which will in turn open the way for crews to restore power, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told Reuters.
The province of Nova Scotia requested the troops and machinery to clear debris Saturday, "and we said yes, and so they're being deployed today," Blair said.
On Sunday, Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Newfoundland and Labrador also requested federal support and troops are going to be sent, Blair said. About 100 troops are heading to each of the three provinces, Defense Minister Anita Anand told reporters.