Today, the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce released key findings of its recent Quick Poll: The Cost of Hurricane Fiona. These results reinforced that Chamber members have been hard hit by the hurricane and are calling for further government support.
The Chamber conducted the online, anonymous survey from October 7 to October 15, to learn what this storm has cost our business community and where the gaps are in terms of assistance.
The results include:
- 83% of respondents had their business closed as a result of the storm, ranging upwards to 13 days or more, with the average hovering around 5 days.
- 70% of respondents saw a loss of revenue, while 30.2% had damaged property as a result of Hurricane Fiona.
- One respondent estimated the cost of Hurricane Fiona to be about $1 million to their business, including damages, loss of inventory and assets, and business interruption.
- Some respondents estimated the cost in terms of loss of revenue due to Hurricane Fiona to be as much as $100,000.
- Some respondents estimated the cost of infrastructural damages as a result of Hurricane Fiona to be as high as $40,000.
- 45% of respondents plan on applying for any of the financial support programs offered by the Government of PEI.
- 43.4% of respondents were unsure if the amount of financial support from the province and the federal government has been sufficient to date, while 34% thought it was insufficient.
- 19% of respondents thought federal and provincial support so far has been sufficient.
- Survey respondents also asked for support for revenue loss, not just employee wages, as well as help with clean-up and return to normalcy following the storm.