Nova Scotia is facing one of the worst flooding events in its history as torrential downpours swept the province over the weekend.
Authorities declared a province-wide state of emergency late Saturday.
Preliminary estimates indicate that some locations received over 100-250 millimetres of rainfall as of Sunday morning, according to CBC News, with Bedford, Lower Sackville, and Windsor experiencing most of this rainfall in just five to seven hours.
The areas worst hit by the heavy rainfall encompass a region stretching from Liverpool in Queens County on the South Shore through Lunenburg County, extending across northwest Halifax County and into Hants County.
The intensity of the deluge caused rivers and streams to overflow. The Department of Public Works has also reported numerous road washouts.
Hundreds of Halifax residents evacuated their homes due to the widespread floods. For some, this marked the second time in a few months that they have had to flee their homes, after the Tantallon-area wildfires in May.
"It's been a tough couple of months, but I guess it seems to be our new normal,” said Bedford resident Melanie McWhirter, who spoke to CBC News while at a comfort centre in Dartmouth.
Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston addressed the situation at a news conference on Sunday, noting that while floodwaters remained high, they have started to recede slightly.
25 bridges were affected by the floods, six of which had been destroyed, according to Houston, while between 500 and 600 individuals were displaced from their homes.
“The damage to people’s property and homes has caused a lot of anxiety," the premier said. “We're closely monitoring the situation and assessing the needs of the affected communities.”
Canada’s federal emergency preparedness minister Bill Blair has approved the province’s request for federal assistance.
The floods stand out as one of the most severe rainfall events to hit the Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971. That storm dumped 266 millimetres of rain at the Halifax airport and 238 millimetres at Shearwater, according to CBC News.
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