The city and people of Sydney are scrambling to make sure they're prepared, after word that another major weather system is on the way in the aftermath of last week’s Thanksgiving storm.
As much as 200 millimeters of rain was dumped on Cape Breton over a week ago, washing out roads, knocking down trees and flooding hundreds of homes.
Now, another system is making its way to the Maritimes.
A cold front will move into Cape Breton early Friday afternoon, bringing 20-30 millimeters of rain and winds gusting up to 50 kilometers an hour. There will be a brief break, before sub-tropical storm Otto brings more wind and rain for Friday evening and all day Saturday. All in all, up to 60 millimeters of rain is expected with winds reaching 80 kilometers an hour.
On Thursday, work crews cleaned debris from catch basins and sewer lines, with still much more work to be done fixing damaged infrastructure.
CBRM’s Mayor says he is worried about what this weekend’s forecast will bring.
“Quite frankly, I’m petrified about what the potential of a major weather event, on top of what we've just experienced,” says Mayor Cecil Clarke. “The water courses have been changed in some places, foundations are compromised. Even modest rainfall could have a larger impact.”
There are more than 20 homes on St. Peters Road in Sydney that could be leveled and designated a no development zone, meaning no future homes or buildings could ever be constructed in the area.
“We thought we would live here until we died. This was our first house; we were here about 15 years. We took pride in it,” says homeowner Tom McNeil.
Residents say they are concerned with the threat of more rainfall to hit the area this weekend.
“I've been here for two years; my wife has lived here for 40 years, as have most of these good people,” says Sydney resident Patrick Linehan. “The future is very uncertain. We are just hoping for the best.”
Samaritans Purse, a well-known international relief effort, arrived in Sydney this week in need of volunteers.
“We have 140 work orders right now. We are only on our fourth or fifth one right now,” says program manager Stephen Joudry. “These people need help as soon as possible to prevent further damage.”
The focus for everyone is getting ready for Mother Nature once again.
“We’ve done a lot of inspections on our roads, but some of our sewer systems still need a lot of inspection, a lot of looking into,” says John Phalen of CBRM Public Works.
“Over and above the culverts that were broken, the shoulders that were washed out, there's ones that were still functional, but just barely,” says NS transportation minister Geoff MacLellan.
The province announced Thursday they will cover the cost of $1,000 deductible for disaster assistance fund.
With another storm approaching, officials are urging people to reach out and help family members, friends and neighbours who may require assistance.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
