GUYSBOROUGH – The violent rainstorm that swept through Guysborough County and neighbouring areas this weekend claimed three sections of Hwy. 344, leaving some residents temporarily stranded.
As of 10 a.m. on Sunday, Port Hawkesbury – the nearest weather station to Guysborough – had received 126.4 mm of rain and winds up to 72 km/h.
Washouts occurred on Friday night at three different locations: one at Steep Creek, another at Sand Point and a third at St. Francis Harbour, blocking traffic and stranding many residents.
Raymond Morris and his wife, Ruth, live between the washouts at Steep Creek and Sand Point in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG). Morris said the pair were stranded during the storm.
“We just sat back and let it happen, I guess,” he said. “There’s nothing we could do.”
Morris said he went down to look at the damage during the storm. He said since moving into the house in 1972, he’d never seen road damage like this after a storm.
“I went down and I saw a big piece of road, that’s the first thing. It was a raging river.”
Morris said he was not pleased that they were stranded during the storm, but added that they fortunately didn’t need to leave the house and were all stocked up on supplies.
“We’re sitting here eating breakfast,” Morris said on Monday morning.
Tyson McEwan, operator of McEwans Towing in Havre Boucher in neighbouring Antigonish County, said many drivers in the area weren’t as fortunate. He pulled out at least 20 vehicles on Saturday alone, starting at around 5 a.m. when he started to get calls.
He responded to one call in St. Francis Harbour along Hwy. 344, where a truck had driven into a hole in the road caused by a washout near Carr Road. By the time McEwan arrived, the current had turned the truck sideways before he managed to extract it.
He said that driving on the secondary highways between Mulgrave and St. Francis Harbour, there were smaller washouts on the sides of the roads.
“You don’t know if it’s compromised, so you drive in the centre of the road because you don’t know what’s going to give out.”
He said the storm also caused unsafe driving conditions for vehicles, saying he was called to a collision in Heatherton.
“We had one recovery where a Chevrolet Malibu had hit a semi, hydroplaned and crossed the road. It took a little while to get the road open,” he said.
Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow said public works teams have been working to establish fixes for the affected areas all weekend. On Sunday, crews installed a new culvert at Steep Creek, allowing traffic in and out.
“That was the priority, because that opened up the 344 so people could get around.”
Morrow said emergency responders checked in with local residents throughout the storm. Crews had identified a route on a less-travelled road between Steep Creek and Sand Point in case anyone needed to get in or out, but no residents living there required it.
“They indicated that they were fine, and that they had everything they needed,” Morrow said.
He noted that crews were still working on Monday to replace the culvert at Carr Road in St. Francis Harbour and were expected to finish work before the end of the day. Work on the culvert at Sand Point, as well as smaller work on driveways and road shoulders, is ongoing.
Asked what his government is doing to prepare for climate change and the potential for future storms, Morrow provided the following statement:
“Public Works is always learning and adapting from these storms and a lot of work goes on in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change. All those government departments are working alongside each other to be more climate resilient and be better prepared for the next one.”
Antigonish escapes worst
While Guysborough County dealt with extensive road damage, Antigonish Town and County largely escaped the storm’s most serious effects. Still, it’s safe to say, J.P. Cormier had never played in front of an audience with so many four-legged members.
During his appearance at the Eastern Nova Scotia Exhibition (ENSE) over the weekend, the multitalented performer’s planned outdoor concert had to be moved into the 4-H Barn because of the late-summer rain and windstorm that lashed parts of northeastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, where he had to share space with an audience that included animals participating in the fall fair.
Although events – such as the ENSE – had to adapt and deal with effects of the inclement weather, Antigonish town and county avoided the more severe consequences of the multi-day storm that brought more than 200 millimetres of rain to some parts of the region.
“In short, the story would be no story,” Town of Antigonish CAO Randy Delorey told The Journal in a Sunday evening email, when asked how conditions affected the municipality.
He said the town “prepared for the worst-case scenario based upon weather forecasts of precipitation levels that could have overwhelmed storm drains.”
Delorey explained, “We were concerned about the impact early in the evening [on Friday] when a section of West St. had to be closed due to flooding. It was only closed for a short period of time before the water levels on the street dropped and it was reopened.”
He added, “We had staff on call and patrolling the streets throughout the night to identify potential issues.”
In consideration of the “significant impacts” on parts of Cape Breton, Delorey noted that the town’s infrastructure “did not suffer any significant issues.”
Delorey thanked not only the public “for respecting the storm and limiting their travel,” but also all the town employees “who prepared for the event and especially those who were on call and worked through the night to stay on top of any issues that may have arisen.”
State of emergency
The torrential rain and high winds that battered Cape Breton, which caused flooding, damaged roads and left thousands without power, led to the declaration of a state of emergency for Inverness, Richmond and Victoria counties, along with the Town of Port Hawkesbury on Saturday.
Noting how multiple roads were closed and conditions remained dangerous, motorists were advised to travel only if it was “essential for health, safety or emergency purposes.” People were also advised not to drive through floodwaters or around barricades, and to limit travel, “to protect public safety, support emergency response efforts and allow damage assessments to proceed.”
At 10:30 a.m., a Regional Emergency Management Organization (REMO) co-ordination centre was established at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, with support from the REMO co-ordinator, municipal staff, provincial EMO staff, Nova Scotia Power, Nova Scotia Public Works representatives and Nova Scotia EHS personnel, to deal with the situation in Port Hawkesbury and the three neighbouring municipalities.
Life lost
In a press release from the Nova Scotia RCMP on Sunday, Richmond County District RCMP announced that, together with ground search and rescue and fire services volunteers, it had recovered the body of a woman reported missing one day earlier.
At approximately 8:45 a.m., the local RCMP received a report of a missing 46-year-old from Cleveland after the woman’s vehicle was located parked near her residence on the far side of a flooded bridge. Searchers recovered the woman in the same area at approximately 2:30 p.m.
Police indicated the woman’s death “is not believed to be suspicious.”
Along with thanking everyone who assisted in the search, the press release indicated, “Our thoughts are with the woman’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
In a provincial press release, Premier Tim Houston said Nova Scotians were “mourning the loss of a woman who died during the flooding in our province.”
He added, “My thoughts are with her loved ones and everyone who is grieving this tragic loss.”
Houston thanked the first responders, emergency workers, volunteers and municipal teams “who are working tirelessly to keep people safe and support communities affected by the flooding.”
Warden Lois Landry, on behalf of Richmond County and its residents, expressed “our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the woman who tragically lost her life this weekend.”
In the same social media post, she added, “There are simply no words that can make a loss like this any easier. My heart goes out to all those who knew and loved her. In a small community like ours, a tragedy like this is felt by so many.”
Like Houston, Landry commended everyone who participated in the weekend search.
“Those who responded are our friends and neighbours as well, and we are deeply grateful for their efforts during an incredibly difficult time,” she said.
In a statement released on Monday morning, Nova Scotia Minister of Emergency Management Kim Masland said, “Our province is mourning the loss of one of our own following the flooding in Cape Breton. My deepest condolences are with her family, loved ones and community as they grieve this heartbreaking loss. When tragedy takes the life of a fellow Nova Scotian, it is felt across our province. I want her loved ones to know that all Nova Scotians are standing with them.”
She added, “My thoughts are also with everyone affected by these devastating floods. This is an incredibly difficult time for many families and communities, and I want people to know that we are here.”
Road woes
In a notice released on Saturday, Port Hawkesbury municipal officials informed the public that public works staff had been working throughout the night, while noting – at the time – there were closures on Prince St. – between MacSween and Embree – to allow NSP to remove a downed tree, along with Sydney Rd. – between Granville and Bernard – which suffered asphalt surface damage.
The announcement noted that neighbouring municipalities – Richmond, Inverness and Victoria – had “experienced significant road damage,” noting that 50 roads were closed at the time.
Ongoing repair and restoration work includes repairing road shoulders and driveway washouts impacted by the storm.
Clean-up continues
Masland visited one of those streets – West Bay Rd. in Inverness County – on Monday, where she received an up-close view of the extensive damage inflicted by the storm over the weekend. She also visited the regional emergency operations centre in Port Hawkesbury to hear from officials about what they have faced and continue to face.
“Our immediate priority is public safety. Every decision being made is focused on protecting people, allowing emergency responders and crews to do their work safely, and directing support where it is needed most. Damage assessments, infrastructure response and recovery planning are underway, and teams remain in constant communication as conditions change,” she said.
Masland thanked the first responders, emergency workers, municipal teams, volunteers, public works crews and members of the Nova Scotia Guard, who she said are “working around the clock to keep people safe, support affected communities and ensure help and assistance reaches those who need it most.”
She described the effort as “a unified response” involving local, municipal, provincial and emergency management partners.
“Municipalities and regional emergency management organizations are leading efforts in their communities, and the province is supporting that work by coordinating resources, information, emergency management expertise and response activities across departments,” she added.
Masland encouraged residents of the affected areas “to follow the advice of local authorities, avoid non-essential travel and take care of yourselves and each other.”
“We will continue working together to respond to all those in need and support communities through this emergency,” she said.
As of press time, the state of emergency remained in effect as the clean-up continued across the four Cape Breton municipalities.
