Rainfall begins to taper off in most of Nova Scotia
Rain fell steadily in parts of Nova Scotia Saturday but so far, damaged infrastructure in the Cape Breton Municipality seems to be holding.
A heavy downpour late Saturday did cause some flooding on streets in the Halifax area. At the same time, the sun poked through the clouds and rain, causing a yellowish haze to be seen over much of the city.
Residents were reporting rivers of water flowing down some south-end Halifax streets.
Clear catch basins
A spokeswoman for the municipality said crews were out clearing catch basins to help out with localized flooding.
The municipality also issued a public service announcement asking the public to clear any blocked street drains if possible.
"In the past, residents have been known to help clear catch basins. The municipality appreciates this assistance and would encourage people to continue this effort if they are willing and able to safely do the work."
Rainfall warnings
Environment Canada had heavy rainfall warnings in place for much of the day, calling for as much as 80 millimetres to fall before midnight. The warning was lifted early Saturday evening.
But it's not necessarily about how much rain falls, said Emergency Management Office planning officer George Muise, but how quickly.
"It doesn't take a lot of rain if it's coming down fast in a short period of time," Muise said.
A few scattered power outages have been reported, caused by trees on the lines. Halifax Stanfield International Airport had about a dozen flights delayed, but most were running on time.
Marine Atlantic said Saturday night's ferry crossings between North Sydney and Port Aux Basques are cancelled.
In Sydney, public works crews have been busy clearing debris away from storm drains and trying to prepare for another torrent of rain.
They worked through the night Friday to clear debris from one of the worst-hit areas of Sydney, Whitney Avenue, that saw as much as 20 feet of water.
High winds
Winds are expected to gust between 50 km/h to 80 km/h across the province. However, due to the topography of the Cape Breton Highlands, gusts in Inverness County are likely to exceed 100 km/h.
About two weeks ago, CBRM received more than 220 millimetres of rainfall — more than two months worth of rain fell in less that 24 hours. The deluge overwhelmed storm sewers flooding basements and even the first floors of homes.
Rain is a welcome sight in drought-stricken areas of southwest Nova Scotia.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality said on Thursday its infrastructure should be able to handle 30 or 40 millimetres of rain, but if it were to get 100 millimetres in such a short period of time, there could be problems.
