'These are really hard things to process,' N.S. premier says about youth's death in flash flood - Action News
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Nova Scotia

'These are really hard things to process,' N.S. premier says about youth's death in flash flood

Nova Scotia RCMP say a Wolfville, N.S., youthdied inThursday night's flash flood. RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Ed Nugent said the youth was playing with friends at a park on Highland Avenue.

Name, age and gender of youth who died Thursday in Wolfville have not been released

A white and green sign hangs from a brown wooden post in a grassy park surrounded by trees. Two soccer nets can be seen in the distance.
Tower Community Park in Wolfville, N.S., as seen on Friday, July 12, 2024. A youth playing with friends at the park was swept into a water-filled ditch during Thursday's flood, say police. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

A youth playing with friends at a Wolfville, N.S., park died Thursday when he was swept into a water-filled ditch during a flash flood that tore up roads and destroyed at least one bridge in the province.

The youth disappeared under the rushing water around 7:40 p.m. ATat Tower Community Park on Highland Avenue, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Ed Nugent during a news conference Friday in Wolfville. The town is located around 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax.

Police did not disclose the victim's name, age or gender.

RCMP saidthe water drainage system in the area was diverted as part of the search effort, and the youth's body was found around 11:30 p.m. local time. It's unclear where the body was found.

Nugent said the search was complicated by the heavy rain, high water levels and eventual darkness.

He said he wasn't aware of any other search and rescue operations in the area due to the flood.

WATCH | Officials commenton fatal flood

'Hard things to process': Youth dies in Wolfville flooding

2 months ago
Duration 2:34
Nearly a year after a deadly flood claimed the lives of four Nova Scotians, tragedy struck again Thursday night in the Annapolis Valley. Gareth Hampshire has the story.

At the newsconference, Nova Scotia Premier TimHouston called it a devastating day for the province and said all Nova Scotians grieve with the victim's family.

"These are really hard things to process," he said.

In a news release issued earlier in the day, Houston said he was "heartbroken at the news that a youth in Wolfville lost his life as a result of flash flooding."

Water rushes down streets and floods N.S. homes, businesses after heavy rain

2 months ago
Duration 0:57
Some areas of Digby, Annapolis, Kings and Hants counties in Nova Scotia saw severe flooding on Thursday evening after heavy rain hit the province. (Photo credit: Brian Taylor)

Houston told the news conference the province has been dealing with a lot of trauma in recent years, including last summer's wildfires, as well as historic flooding one year ago that left four people dead.

"Those emotions are certainly magnified with the loss of the youth today," he said.

Houston said there's tremendous infrastructure damage throughout the province. He said around 30 roads remain closed because of flood damage, but as many as 35 were closed Thursdaynight.

An emergency alert warning of flash floodingwas issued for Digby, Annapolis, Kings and Hants counties Thursday evening as remnants of post-tropical storm Beryl swept through the western part of the province.The province issued the alert at 8:30 p.m. AT.

Water covers Main Street in Wolfville during a flash flood on July 11, 2014.
Flooding on Main Street in Wolfville on Thursday. (Submitted)
A photo shows an impassable road due to flooding.
This photo shows some of the flooding at Hennigar's Farm Market in Wolfville on Thursday. (Jerry Redden/Facebook)

Kentvillereceived 90.4 millimetres of rain Thursday, according to CBC meteorologist Trevor Adams, with 69 millimetres recorded in Truro. Smaller amounts were reported in Chticampand Port Hawkesbury, where 30.9 millimetres and 26.1 millimetres fellrespectively.

Michael Gardiner, the farm manager at Hennigar's Farm Market in Wolfville, said Thursday's storm was the worst he'sseen.

Gardiner said while he's seen more rain fall before, it was how quickly it came down that was different, and how that caused flash flooding.

"It was literally, like, a blink of an eye," said Gardiner.

He said they opened up both ends of the market to allow the water to run through the store.

A manager of a farm market looks at damage caused by a flash flood.
Michael Gardiner of Hennigar's Farm Market says the water on Thursday was up to his waist, in relation to where he is seen standing in this photo taken Friday. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

Gardiner said a crew wason-site Friday cleaning up the mess.

"Everything's destroyed," he said. "There's mud everywhere. It's quite bad."

There's an outdoor part of the business that's home to an animal park. Gardiner said the goat pen was filled with almost a metre of water and he had to carry them out.

Remnants of post-tropical storm Beryl swept through the western part of Nova Scotia Thursday evening, and Nova Scotia RCMP has reported that a youth has died in Wolfville after being swept away in the floods. MLA for Kings South Keith Irving joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about how his constituents are feeling after the tragedy.

In Halls Harbour, a popular tourist destination in the Annapolis Valley, floodwaters tore through a small causeway and sluice gates, knocking down the West Halls Harbour Road bridge.

Coun. Dick Killamtold CBC Radio's Maritime Noonthe torrent of water "appeared like Niagara Falls."

"It was very violent," he said.

A photo shows damage to a road caused by flash flooding that hit Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.
This photo shows damage to a road near the Old Orchard Inn in Wolfville. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)

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With files from Gareth Hampshire

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