Residents near Shediac coping with damage from Fiona

More than two days after Fiona, Anne Godin is coping with the reality that her cottage is lost.

The hurricane swept across southeastern New Brunswick overnight Friday, impacting many of the homes along the coastline near Shediac.

Godin said her home in Grand-Barachois, about 10 kilometres east of Shediac, was no exception.

"Everything is damaged, there's nothing we can save," she said.

"25 years of souvenirs with friends and family, my kids… it's hard."

Mud still covered the floor of her home Monday with water stains about one foot up on the interior walls.

Godin said the entire home shifted off its foundation.

She said she was optimistic heading into the storm and thought it would be similar to Dorian in 2019, but this was worse.

Godin said she first saw how bad the situation was when pictures of the community began to surface on Facebook.

"I just cried… I loved that place so much," said Godin, "I called it my little paradise."

Jacinthe LeBlanc, a resident of the community, said her cottage was one of the lucky few that only lost shingles and siding, but she is heartbroken for her neighbours.

She said most of the cottages in her community are a complete loss.

"We're a close knit community, so it's really devastating to see this."

LeBlanc said each home in the strip of cottages closest to the beach had a yard with grass, but it is now completely covered in sand.

"The entire beach has moved over, even a few feet past the cottages."

LeBlanc said three-to-five metre waves crashed against the cottages at peak high tide Saturday morning.

She said the community is still in disbelief.

"Dorian hit us hard too, but nothing like this," said LeBlanc, "Dorian never moved houses."

She said the community came together to help one another clean up the roof shingles, trees and beach debris off the roads and properties.

Brent Dufoe said he can't get to his cottage by car, because a home that was moved off its foundation is now blocking the access road.

His cottage had glass railings that were destroyed by the wind, and about eight inches of water flooded his basement.

"Almost everybody suffered some damage," said Dufoe.

'Could have been worse'

Pam Novak at the Atlantic Wildlife Institute near Sackville said the centre endured some damage from the hurricane.

"There's been some damage for sure, but it could have been much worse," Novak told Shift, "We're actually quite lucky and thankful."

Novak said the centre's main focus was the safety of staff and animals, and luckily no one was injured.

She said an outdoor duck enclosure and storage unit were damaged by trees, something Novak said will take a couple of days to fix.

Novak said the centre was still without power as of Monday afternoon, and Novak was told not to expect electricity for another two or three days.

"Obviously it complicates things," she said.

"For now, we're keeping everybody as warm and comfy as we can and just keeping stress levels down."