Devastating floods in Nova Scotia
The province has already begun dealing with the aftermath of the devastating thunderstorms.
Late last week, the province of Nova Scotia on Canada's east coast faced torrential rains that caused devastating flooding. And, starting over the weekend, the province began dealing with the aftermath of the natural disaster.
The storm began Friday, and over 25 centimeters of rain fell in parts of Nova Scotia overnight. The province received three months' worth of rain in one day. Meteorologists say it was the heaviest rainfall in the provincial capital of Halifax since Hurricane Beth in 1971.
Flooding washed out roads, flooded buildings, damaged bridges, and a railroad track.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston called the damage from the natural disaster unimaginable and said the cost of remediation will likely run into the "hundreds of millions" of CAD.
A state of emergency was declared throughout the province on Saturday evening, which will last until Aug. 5.
Unfortunately, there were no human casualties. Four people (2 children, one teenager, and one adult man) went missing. In the course of search operations, the bodies of two missing children and a man were found, while the search for the last missing person is still underway.
Across the province, 19 bridges were damaged, another six were destroyed, and many roads had to be closed. Nearly 600 people had to be evacuated from the danger zones.
"Water levels are still high in many impacted areas but they're starting to recede. The main risks at this point are our transportation challenges," Houston shared over the weekend.
The prime minister also said there was "extensive damage" to the section of the Canadian National Railway that leads to the Port of Halifax. This port provides nearly CAD 4.5 billion in economic turnover for Nova Scotia each year. Repairs to the railroad are being delayed until water levels recede and it is safe to make repairs.
According to Nova Scotia Power's outage map, just over 2,000 residents in the province were without power on Sunday, compared to about 80,000 at the height of the storm.
Flooding in Nova Scotia is unfortunately not the only natural disaster Canada has faced this year. The wildfire season has set several bitter records, with smoke from them reaching the US and Europe.
