People in Nova Scotia’s Colchester and Pictou counties are mopping up after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding on the weekend.
Homeowners went into cleanup mode and braced for more wet weather, as the latest downpour caused dramatic damage.
A portion of highway on West River Station Road was wiped out by flooding in Watervale, and in Truro, frustration quickly turned to anger as residents dealt with floodwaters for the second time in less than two weeks.
“I think I should sue the Town of Truro and I’m going to, I’m not kidding,” says Shalla Brannen, who lost her car to flooding earlier this month. “I’m a senior citizen. I’m 78 years old. I’m not happy at all.”
Contributing to the flooding in Truro is broken down dikes, which were first breached on Sept. 10.
Halifax resident Jody Collins, who was in town on the weekend to help her parents clean up after the flood, says the dikes are only part of the problem.
“They need to dredge the river,” says Collins. “Right now the river is so shallow it’s overflowing and the dikes can’t support the water.”
In nearby Pleasant Valley, Gerry Hamilton had to use a ladder to get to her home after a private road washed away for the second time this month.
“It’s just too much,” says Hamilton. “It’s hard. You have to keep coming up with large amounts of money.”
Her local councillor says he will do what he can to get council to assist with her costs.
Some Halifax area residents are also dealing with the aftermath of heavy rains.
“There was about three feet. Everything was just floating around and as you see, it’s all sewage,” says Lower Sackville resident Jean Borland.
Borland and five other homeowners on her street were flooded with sewage overnight Saturday – a cleanup that Borland says will cost her thousands.
With more rain expected in the forecast for many parts of Nova Scotia today, people are hoping it will hold off long enough to get their belongings onto higher ground.
“The system is travelling just offshore, so the heaviest rain will be at the coast,” says CTV meteorologist Cindy Day. “Rainfall amounts could be as high as 25 millimetres, but the Truro area will likely get closer to 15 millimetres. The rain will end by morning, with sunshine in the forecast for tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia government says work will begin on the crumbling dike as soon as conditions are safe.
According to a news release, Premier Darrell Dexter has called for a meeting to develop a flood action plan for Central Nova Scotia.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Alyse Hand