Power has been restored to most New Brunswick homes, but the bills are piling up in the wake of post-tropical storm Arthur.

Many communities across the province are in the process of hauling truckloads of debris out of their neighbourhoods.

“We’ve been keeping a general ledger. We did the same thing with the winter storm, so we’ve been keeping a ledger of all of our costs over and above the usual administrative costs that are associated with Arthur,” says Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier.

It will cost millions of dollars to clean up the debris and repair the damage. Municipalities typically get compensation from higher levels of government, but most homeowners and small businesses will be on their own.

Campground owner Howard Heans says his business lost power for six days. As a result, Heans says he lost thousands of dollars’ worth of business when customers left, and others were turned away.

“So, some people drove here from Saskatchewan and all other places and they suddenly realized this was not the place to come camping - no power, no water, no washrooms,” says Heans.

He says insurance will not cover the losses and the cleanup will cost him thousands of dollars.

“I think a lot of people are going to need compensation of some sort.”

Compensation following extreme weather events isn’t without precedent; a compensation package was offered to small businesses and homeowners who suffered extraordinary losses during the 1998 ice storm.

However, that kind of assistance hasn’t been offered since, and seems unlikely in this case. Emergency assistance is available through the Canadian Red Cross, but only for the most vulnerable.

“Literally if you have no food in your home and you have no financial capability to go out and get some more food and you also meet the low-income cutoffs,” says Bill Lawlor of Red Cross Disaster Assistance. “Then the Red Cross will be in a position to provide assistance on behalf of the Department of Social Development.”

As spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety said Thursday that the government is still assessing the damage and it’s too early to talk about compensation.

The government is urging people to check whether damage is covered under insurance policies.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron