Concern grows in Cape Breton as region braces for more potential rain
In an area already hit by record rainfalls last week, it appears more is on the way.
Communities along the Cabot Trail are just starting to pick up the pieces from the damage done by flooding and road washouts. The hope is another downpour forecast for Monday won't cause any more destruction, or undo temporary repairs that have already been made.
"I am sensing a lot of concern about the rain coming tomorrow”, said Ingonish-area councillor Larry Dauphinee. "Some reports are saying up as high as 70 mm, which usually wouldn't be anything to be concerned about.”
Dauphinee says his biggest concern is shoulder washouts along the highway.
"The shoulders down there are like three to four feet deep – trenches”, he said. “More rain coming, where's it going to go? So my concern is that it's going to undermine the pavement there."
After touring the hardest hit areas by helicopter on Saturday, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is promising recovery support from all three levels of government.
"The damage was clear. The physical damage to homes and to roads”, Houston said. "[What’s next is] making sure that we're there to help them get things rebuilt. Give them some comfort that the province will be there, the municipality, the federal government - all three - to support them financially."
With how much widespread damage has been done, some are wondering if that will be enough.
"The concern is definitely there”, Dauphinee said. “We're hearing stories there may be some financial assistance, especially for basements that have been flooded and some of the homes that have been damaged. But again, it's the time frame. There's no definite answer."
In the meantime, community members have been helping one another in the air and on the ground. An EMO-led helicopter was back in some stranded areas Sunday with more supplies, and they weren’t the only ones lending a hand.
"Breton Air and Destination Cape Smokey helping out with helicopters”, said Dauphinee. “[Local fishermen] with their boat, taking teachers down by boat this morning to Neil's Harbour."
Dauphinee said with a long recovery from the storm just beginning, residents are simply hoping for the best from Monday’s weather.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.