Rising water still a threat in Nova Scotia

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Rising water still a threat in Nova Scotia

Terri Goveia on November 8, 2010

Floodwaters still threaten parts of southwestern Nova Scotia, where the storm waters that flooded homes, submerged cottages and washed out bridges still haven’t reached their peak.

Emergency officials have evacuated over 100 families from the Yarmouth area, as they monitor the state of the Lake Vaughan, Gardner Mills and Carleton Dams following intense weekend rain that dumped over 200 mm of water on the region.

The water has already washed out major roads and bridges, and “a lot of homes are flooded and cottages are underwater,” says Glenna Boudreau, owner of Vaughne Insurance. “It’s a catastrophe.”

Assessments on hold

By late Monday, The Co-operators already had 56 claims come in from the region, but the company “expects many more than that over the next two weeks,” says Leonard Sharman, the insurer’s spokesperson.

Boudreau and other brokers and adjusters are still assessing the affected areas–which spans four counties from Lunenburg to Yarmouth–but homeowners are already reporting flooded basements and waterlogged belongings, says Laurie MacDonald, owner of Fundy Adjustment Bureau.

At Boudreau’s Yarmouth brokerage, “the calls are coming in fast and furious,” she told Canadian Insurance Top Broker November 9, but points out that brokers and adjusters have their hands tied until the water peaks and then recedes.

Although insurers have sent in cat teams and representatives from restoration companies are already on scene, “people are still being evacuated and we can’t do any clean up or assessment,” she says. Her brokerage is sending food to displaced residents.

Longtime residents “haven’t seen anything like this,” she says, describing a nearby small stream that turned into a raging river that buckled a roadway. “It’s huge.”

Residential homes will probably sustain the most damage, Macdonald estimates. “You’ll likely see water damage to contents and buildings, and some may have slight wind damage,” he says, pointing out that much of this damage won’t stem from sewer or drain back-up, but from water spilling into basement windows and doors

Infrastructure at risk

Infrastructure has already sustained serious damage–the province’s emergency management office released a list of closed and washed-out roadways that filled an entire page on November 8.

Provincial emergency management officers have warned that any more rain will cause further localized flooding.

And a November 7 Emergency Management Office (EMO) bulletin advised residents in affected areas to prepare for flooding by moving their furniture away from areas that may flood, and to secure anything on their property that might be swept away.

This story was originally posted on November 8 and updated on November 9.