Clean-up efforts underway in Halifax after post-tropical storm Lee

In Halifax, post-tropical storm Lee left behind debris, damaged property and power outages for many to clean up after.

Halifax Regional Municipality started cleaning roads late Saturday night. City crews worked to remove fallen trees and branches on road.

“We’ve had excavators out so the province has been working with us on the roadway systems within the municipality to clean everything so all our roads are currently open,” said Erica Fleck, Halifax Regional Municipality’s director of Emergency Management.

The storm surge caused washed out streets and had rocks littered across many roadways.

During post-tropical storm Lee, well over 30,000 people lost power in the Halifax-area, including residents in a building on Kent Street. Power lines were ripped from the building which was caused by a tree falling over.

Along with taking down power lines, the tree damaged three cars that were parked along the side of the street during the storm.

Damage done on Kent Street in Halifax, after a tree fell and damaged the street. (CTV/Hafsa Arif) Darren Hartwig’s, is a resident of the building that lost the power line.

“I thought this doesn’t look so bad damage-wise but once they took apart the tree and everything like that we see all the damages. The windows gone, the engines ruined so hopefully insurance gives us a new car today,” he said.

While the municipality and Nova Scotia Power removed most of the fallen tree from the street, the large trunk remains squished against the bumper of Hartwig’s car.

“Right now we have to wait for Bell because they have a line that’s active that is hanging across the street so when they cut that they’re able to get rid of the tree and I’ll be able to get my car towed and into a maintenance shop,” he said.

While power has been stored to many hopes, some pockets of the city remain in the dark.

“We are waiting for updates from Nova Scotia Power. We know majority of the traffic lights in the downtown areas in both Dartmouth and Halifax are completely out so that’s why we’re urging caution on the roads,” said Fleck.

In Eastern Passage, the same boardwalk along Fisherman’s Cove that was repaired after Fiona is now destroyed by Lee’s power.

The damaged boardwalk at Fisherman's Cove in N.S. (CTV/Hafsa Arif) With a calmer coastline, locals in the area were able to survey the damage left behind by the post-tropical storm.

Many were surprised to see rocks that once surrounded the coastline now on the other side of the boardwalk. Broken pieces of the boardwalk were also scattered around the area.

“We expected some damage but this is just crazy. It’s such a tourist attraction and so popular with all the locals. People are going to be lost for somewhere to walk,” said one couple to CTV News.

People who live in the area are used to seeing storms and its aftermath on the community, but many said they never expected Lee to have such a powerful impact on their shorelines. “We knew there would be rocks on it but had no idea it was going to be like this, this morning.”

It is a day dedicated to clean-up after Lees fury left destruction behind.

Click here for a photo gallery of the impact of post-tropical storm Lee in the Maritime provinces.