NS Flood

Four people — including two children and a youth — have been reported missing in Nova Scotia after the vehicles they were travelling in became submerged in floodwaters, RCMP say. Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said two separate searches started early Saturday at the height of the storm. “Two children are unaccounted for in relation to an incident in West Hants where a vehicle they were travelling in was submerged,” Tremblay said Saturday afternoon. “Three of the five occupants known to have been in that vehicle were able to escape.” In a separate incident, a man and a youth are also missing. Tremblay said RCMP are not revealing the exact locations of the searches because they don’t want people interfering with the organized search teams. Much of central Nova Scotia, including areas of the Halifax Regional Municipality, has been dealing with severe flooding and impassable roads Saturday after torrential downpours swamped much of the province overnight Friday. An evacuation order that had been issued for people living near the St. Croix River system early Saturday morning has been lifted. An emergency alert had been sent out to cellphones in the area at 3:41 a.m. AT. The nearby dam was also at risk of breaching. Windsor and West Hants Municipality Mayor Abraham Zebian says that as of Saturday morning, the dam is no longer at risk. “Thankfully it is under control, they relieved some water from that dam and we’ve got most of the area evacuated now,” he said. Just before 3 p.m., a new emergency alert said people could return home if safe to do so, but asked them to “remain vigilant.” It said the Avon River Hydro System is still experiencing high water levels, and some roads in the area remain flooded. People affected by the flooding can go to the Falmouth Elementary School. Zebian said there have been lots of washouts in the area and that some roads are still completely submerged. “We’ll keep on watching the water levels and keep on draining that dam, and keep on moving forward trying to get more road networks cleared up and opened up.” Anyone in the area who is still in need of emergency help evacuating should call 911, Zebian said. Residents were told overnight to evacuate to the Brooklyn Civic Centre at 995 Highway 215, Newport, while a later alert said evacuees can also use the Windsor Civic Centre at 78 Thomas St., Windsor. The South West Hants Fire Hall on Highway 114 on Chester Road is also open, Zebian said. He said resources are stretched, but as the day continues, crews will continue to work to complete all necessary evacuations and keep monitoring the dam. Windsor, located in Hants County, is about 60 kilometres northwest of downtown Halifax. Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told CBC News early Saturday that RCMP are helping with evacuations at Smileys provincial park campground, which is fairly close to the dam. Tremblay said if people near the dam are not able to flee, they should call 911 for help. Nova Scotia’s road conditions website is warning of flooding on highways 101, 102, 103, 107, 111 and 118. According to the RCMP, Highway 101 is now closed at exit 3 in Upper Sackville.  Halifax has also been caught in the deluge, with Halifax Regional Police warning that multiple roads are closed to all traffic. They include: The Bedford Highway between Sherbrooke Drive and Flamingo Drive and between Dartmouth Road and River Lane.  Union Street between the Bedford Highway and Rowledge Lane.  Hammonds Plains Road between Gary Martin Drive and Larry Uteck Boulevard.  Bluewater Road at Hammonds Plains Road. “It’s unlike anything I’ve seen here,” said Halifax Mayor Mike Savage.”It’s quite a violent storm and the ground, of course, is very saturated now, so any rain we continue to get only adds to the problem we have.” Cars are seen abandoned on Highway 101 outside of Halifax late Friday, after torrential downpours flooded the area. (Frank Inrig/CBC) Police also warned early Saturday that the storm has left rocks, gravel and other debris on roads throughout the region. They also said a number of vehicles that had been abandoned on flooded roads were towed.  “A large number of vehicles also remain in flooded parking lot and on private properties.” In a release Saturday morning, the Halifax Regional Municipality advised drivers and pedestrians to stay off roads due to unsafe conditions. “Numerous roads are washed out and remain closed due to flooding. There are abandoned cars on roads and highways causing dangerous conditions. There is a significant amount of damage,” the city said.  Emergency flooding calls can be directed to Halifax Water at 902-420-9287, while damage to infrastructure an roads can be reported by calling 311 or emailing hrm_emo@halifax.ca.  The municipality has also opened two comfort centres for residents dealing with power outages and flooding, with the Beaver Bank Community Centre and East Dartmouth Community Centre remaining open overnight. About 150 people have needed support thus far, the mayor said. Those travelling on Halifax Transit can expect significant delays and detours, said the HRM, and updates will be provided on Twitter and on the city’s website. Regional alerts sent by provincial officials throughout the night have warned of severe flooding, damaged homes and impassable roads. Savage acknowledged that the last few months have been challenging in the province. “We’ve had own little tour of Armageddon,” he said. “We had the horrific wildfires at the end of May into June and now we have flooding, so it seems like all the plagues are hitting us.”  CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said this “is a historic flood event for Nova Scotia.” Preliminary estimates show up to 250 mm of rain fell in some areas as of 6 a.m., Snoddon said, adding that in the Halifax area, it appears to be the heaviest rainfall event since 1971. Nova Scotia Power (NSP) says it has been dealing with outages in the Halifax and Liverpool areas that were caused by lightning. At the peak of the storm last night, more than 70,000 customers were without power, the utility said.  As of 3 p.m., power had been restored to about 60,000 customers. “Our crews are working and navigating the flooded roads to try and get power back on as