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Calls to insurance companies ramp up after basements flood in historic N.S. rainfall

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Homeowners affected by historic rainfall and flooding in Nova Scotia are gutting their basements and waiting to hear back from insurance adjusters to plan out their next steps.

In the Lower Sackville area, some residents saw the water along the Little Sackville River rise and sweep away belongings and damage infrastructure in a matter of just a few hours.

“I’ve never seen the river… like, we’ve lost some of the embankment, we’ve lost a ton of stuff out of the yard,” Donnie Johnson told CTV News Tuesday.

Johnson snapped some photos as the water rose, and alerted the other tenant living on the property, who wasn’t home at the time.

Heather Comeau, who lives in the basement of the same building, was able to rescue her cat, Taz, as her home filled with about four feet of water.

Water was pouring out of her toilet and her fridge was floating.

“I already kind of knew what I was coming home to. I was just trying to come home to get my cat,” Comeau said.

“I can’t even explain it. It was just like an empty feeling. All of my son’s baby memories and everything were gone. Just things you can’t replace.”

Johnson said he feels fortunate that only a foot of water came into his unit.

”Basically, none of my personal stuff got damaged, it’s just structural and that’s about it,” he said.

All over the community, piles of damp debris are sitting curbside, or laying in the yard to dry out.

As expected, calls to insurance companies are picking up.

“I think we‘ll probably have a better idea in a week or two what that overall picture looks like,” said Graham Little, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s interim vice president for the Atlantic region.

He said affected residents can start the insurance process by contacting an agent and documenting damage with pictures and available paperwork.

“Talk to your insurer. Make sure you understand what’s available and how that policy will react in a situation like this, because you don’t want to find out after the fact,” Little said.

Little encourages everybody to get tenant insurance, something Comeau said has not been a requirement of her rental unit.

“It was never a requirement. In the lease, the owner has insurance and everything that covers for tenants and whatnot.”

Little said, “in this particular case, you still would have needed tenant’s insurance that included water coverage, so that’s kind of critical here.”

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page(opens in a new tab).

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Heather Comeau's backyard is pictured in Lower Sackville, N.S., after her basement unit flooded.
Heather Comeau's backyard is pictured in Lower Sackville, N.S., after her basement unit flooded.

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