A Quebecer on a business trip in California suffered the effects torrential rains WHO fell there, as the weather gets wild in Nova Scotia too, buried after a historic snowstorm.
• Also read: Severe storm claims at least three lives in California
“We must have had five or six weather alerts on our phones. They are calling for a travel stop because it can be life-threatening,” explains Gabriel Tremblay, who lives in Orange County, California.
On Tuesday he was in one of eight counties in the US state where a state of emergency was in effect as heavy rains continued to threaten the region.
In recent days, an initial storm caused dangerous flooding, mudslides and landslides, killing at least three people and losing power to nearly half a million homes.
Gabriel Tremblay is in California for work. PHOTO PROVIDED BY GABRIEL TREMBLAY
“Highways are not designed for this much water accumulation, there are parts of the highway that had to be closed, palm leaves and other debris on the road,” testified Gabriel Tremblay.
When he arrived last week, he had to change hotels because water leaked into his room.
“The carpet was wet up to 30 centimeters from the wall,” said the man, who works for an electronics company in Montreal.
More than a meter of snow in Nova Scotia
In Nova Scotia, it was the snow that fell over the weekend that brought travel to a standstill.
“These are record amounts that fell,” said Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, who called the storm “historic.”
Up to 150 centimeters of snow fell, including around Cape Breton.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DEANNA PETER
“We will have to shovel a lot of snow in the coming days. The snowplow hasn't come for four days,” Patrick Poupart, a resident of the island in the northeast of the province, told LCN on Tuesday.
Further rainfall expected
Such weather phenomena are expected to occur again in the future as the atmosphere on the ground warms.
“In the east of the country we expect fewer snowstorms, but the storms we will have will be more severe,” explains Christopher McCray, a climate simulation and analysis specialist at the scientific research consortium Ouranos.
California, which is already struggling with atmospheric corridors, can expect even more heavy rain episodes in the future.
“We designed our cities for a much cooler and less rainy climate, but our infrastructure needs to be modernized due to much greater rainfall,” emphasizes the expert.
With AFP and TVA Nouvelles
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