Strong winds across the Maritimes cause power outages, flooded roadways, school closures

Strong winds resulted in thousands of power outages in the Maritimes Thursday, as well as flooded roadways and school closures.

Power

In Nova Scotia,105 Nova Scotia Power customers were without electricity at 9 p.m. At one point, more than 30,000 customers were without electricity.

Restoration times vary by area.

At 7:45 a.m., the Nova Scotia RCMP asked the public to avoid the 8000 and 9000 block of Highway 8 in South Brookfield, Queens County due to a live power line in the area.

A Nova Scotia Power crew works to restore power in Scotsburn on Feb. 29, 2024.

In New Brunswick, nearly 522 NB Power customers were without power at 9 p.m.

Saint John Fire told CTV News early Thursday morning there were some downed wires and water pooling in typical spots.

The city asked residents to give themselves extra time if travelling, and to give power crews working on outages extra space.

"We can do a lot in terms of preventing the flooding that happens on the east side, we just try to be prepared for when it happens and being ready for last night with the drop in temperatures into today," says Tim O'Reilly, Saint John's director of Public Works. 

"We have some heavy equipment like graders for example with a lot of down pressure where we will literally chop the ice down and get rid of it across the road surface."

On Prince Edward Island, one Maritime Electric customer were without electricity as of 9 p.m.

Sussex flooding

The town of Sussex, N.B., said Thursday morning travel was not advised on most streets and several were underwater.

"Residents are reminded that driving on flooded roadways is dangerous for both the vehicle and driver as well as already flooded residential properties in the area," read a post on the town's Facebook page.

Drone pictures posted on social media showed high water levels in the town Thursday morning.

Drone picture of flooding taken in Sussex, N.B., on Feb. 29, 2024. (Source: Facebook/Ronnie Davis)

NB Power says there is a warming centre and charging facility at 1067 Main St. for residents impacted by the flooding.

The town also says further information and links to register for flood recovery assistance will be sent out once details are determined.

Travel

In Halifax, the MacKay Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles due to the wind. Halifax Harbour Bridges says it reopened to high-sided vehicles and heavy trucks by 9:30 a.m.

Halifax Transit suspended all ferry service at 7:30 a.m. It resumed about 45 minutes later.

Marine Atlantic has rescheduled two sailings due to the weather conditions. 

Schools

Many schools in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are closed Thursday. A full list can be found here.

Click here for a photo gallery of flooding images.

With files from CTV's Amanda Debison and CTV's Avery MacRae.