OTTAWA, July 22 (Portal) – The heaviest rains in more than 40 years severely damaged a major city in Canada’s Atlantic region on Saturday, prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to offer help to deal with what he says is a very worrying situation.
The storm, which began on Friday, had thrown more than 20 cm (8 inches) across parts of the eastern province of Nova Scotia by 8 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) on Saturday.
“There is significant damage to roads and infrastructure. Conditions are currently unsafe for vehicles and pedestrians,” tweeted the regional port community of Halifax, the province’s largest city.
Environment Canada is forecasting torrential rain in the east of the province that will continue through Sunday. At times, more than 70,000 people were without power.
“I am very concerned about the flooding in Nova Scotia. People’s homes were damaged, their safety was at risk,” Trudeau told reporters in Toronto.
“We will be there for them as they go through this, but also in the difficult days and weeks ahead.”
Pictures posted to social media from Halifax showed abandoned cars nearly flooded and rescue workers using boats to rescue people.
“It was a terrible night for our community,” Halifax Mayor Mike Savage tweeted.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said Halifax’s rains were the heaviest since a hurricane hit the city in 1971.
The flooding was the latest weather-related disaster to hit Canada this year. Wildfires have already burned a record number of acres and sent plumes of smoke across the United States. Earlier in the month, heavy rains caused flooding in several eastern US states.
Early Saturday, authorities in northern Nova Scotia ordered residents to evacuate amid fears a dam could rupture near the St. Croix River system.
But local mayor Abraham Zebian later said the danger had passed.
“Thankfully it’s under control. They drained some water from that dam,” he told CBC.
Reporting by David Ljunggren; Edited by Daniel Wallis and Richard Chang
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