Lee has departed, but thousands in Nova Scotia still have no power
The most powerful images of Lee's aftermath in Nova Scotia13 hours agoDuration 0:57Post-tropical storm Lee made landfall in Nova Scotia this weekend, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds. Here's a look at some of the aftermath across the province.The latest:Gusts of up to 117 km/h reported in Nova Scotia at the height of the storm. More than 23,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without power as of 10 p.m. AT Sunday. More than 2,000 N.B. Power clients without power as of 10 p.m. AT. If the power or data on your device is low, get your storm updates on text-only CBC Lite. Power crews were working to turn the lights back on for tens of thousands of customers in the Maritimes on Sunday as post-tropical storm Lee made its exit, leaving behind downed trees and battered coastlines.Winds were still gusting up to 70 km/h in some areas of mainland Nova Scotia Sunday morning as the storm slowly moved out in a northeasterly direction and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.A boardwalk in Eastern
The latest:
- Gusts of up to 117 km/h reported in Nova Scotia at the height of the storm.
- More than 23,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without power as of 10 p.m. AT Sunday.
- More than 2,000 N.B. Power clients without power as of 10 p.m. AT.
- If the power or data on your device is low, get your storm updates on text-only CBC Lite.
Power crews were working to turn the lights back on for tens of thousands of customers in the Maritimes on Sunday as post-tropical storm Lee made its exit, leaving behind downed trees and battered coastlines.
Winds were still gusting up to 70 km/h in some areas of mainland Nova Scotia Sunday morning as the storm slowly moved out in a northeasterly direction and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The National Hurricane Center in the U.S. said the storm made landfall in Long Island, N.S., around 4 p.m. Saturday, with maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h.
There was no major infrastructure damage reported, and no reports of missing people, injuries or deaths. Lee did claim the life of at least one person south of the border — a 51-year-old motorist in Maine died after a large tree limb fell on his vehicle Saturday.
Nova Scotia Power said 277,000 were affected by power outages throughout the storm, which began blowing through the region Friday evening. The number of customers still in the dark had dropped to 25,000 by 10 p.m. Sunday.
Halifax, Truro, New Glasgow, and the western part of the province, which includes the South Shore, the Annapolis Valley, and Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne County, were hardest hit by the storm, the utility said in a release.
Matt Drover, Nova Scotia Power storm lead, said early Sunday that 170,000 customers had already had their power restored.
As winds began to die down in many areas of the province, Drover said crews were out on the roads removing trees, getting up in buckets and restoring power, where possible.
Drones were being used in the Halifax region to get a look at damage, while in western parts of the province, helicopters were being used to survey the situation on the ground.
"We will get a significant number of people back on today," said Drover.
Despite not reaching the intensity of Fiona, a powerful hurricane that arrived in Nova Scotia last year as a post-tropical storm, Drover said high winds still made things difficult for power crews Saturday.
In Halifax, for instance, winds were higher than anticipated, he said.
Drover expected most people to have their power restored by the end of day Monday, but those living in some of the areas hardest hit may have to wait longer.
"As soon as we have an understanding of where those pockets of damage are, we'll update our outage map and update those restoration times," he said.
Erica Fleck, director of emergency management for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said storm surges, downed trees, and power outages were the biggest impacts of the storm in the city on Saturday.
With around 130 downed trees and numerous washouts across the municipality, Fleck said the focus Sunday would be on restoring roadways, many of which were already damaged by July's historic floods.
"We like to remind people that the crews are out there trying to get things fixed as quick as possible," said Fleck. "It would be very helpful if citizens could avoid travel if they don't need to."
The city said most Halifax Transit routes were up and running and continuing as scheduled, and that ferry service had been restored between Halifax and Dartmouth.
A map showing road conditions across the municipality, including closures, is available here.
According to Jason Mew, a director with Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office, most people across the province took the storm seriously.
"Nova Scotians are certainly getting used to more than their fair share of [weather] events," he said.
"I believe they take it a lot more seriously now and they're better prepared overall ... so they're not caught off guard trying to do last minute shopping during a storm."
Ferry service between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., was scheduled to resume Sunday at 5 p.m. AT with a departure from P.E.I.
In New Brunswick, more than 2,000 were still without power Sunday evening.
Top wind gusts of 117 km/h were recorded at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, while southwestern Nova Scotia saw gusts of between 90 and 110 km/h and between 30 to 60 millimetres of rainfall in that same area.
CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said the heaviest rain fell to the northwest of Lee's track, where amounts of 50 to 100 millimetres or more were recorded.
Nova Scotia RCMP were asking people to stay off the roads on Saturday, as water, downed trees and utility lines were creating hazards along the province's Atlantic coastline.
Many homeless people living in encampments throughout the Halifax area were moved to shelters established at St. Matthew's Church, Captain William Spry Community Centre and Beacon House in Lower Sackville, Savage said during a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
Bell, a major cellular service provider, confirmed in an email there were some "wireless congestion" on Saturday in areas where there are widespread power outages. Eastlink, Rogers and Telus reported similar issues.
A motorist was injured when a pine tree fell on his vehicle while he was driving into Blockhouse, N.S.
Cancellations
All Halifax Public Library branches remain closed Sunday, along with Point Pleasant Park, the Halifax Public Gardens and Camp Hill Cemetery.
Northumberland Ferries said all sailings between Wood Islands, P.E.I, and Caribou, N.S., until noon were cancelled. It said to monitor its website for updates.
Bay Ferries cancelled its Saturday and Sunday crossings between Bar Harbour, Maine, and Yarmouth.
Marine Atlantic cancelled its Sunday afternoon crossings between North Sydney, N.S., and Port Aux Basques, N.L.
Many flights in and out of the region were cancelled Saturday and Sunday. Anyone with plans to travel should check the status of their flight with their airline.
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