Victoria County braces for more rain amid cleanup effort - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Victoria County braces for more rain amid cleanup effort

Recovery work is continuing in Victoria County even as authorities prepare for more rain in the coming days.

Environment Canada is predicting up to 70 mm of rain for much of Nova Scotia

Premier Tim Houston surveyed storm damage in Victoria County on Saturday. (Communications Nova Scotia)

There is more rain coming for hard-hit Victoria County and that is not aforecast people in the area want to hear.

Wind and rain caused major damage to the area last week as a storm lashed the province.

Environment Canada is predicting up to 70 millimetres of rain early this week.

Victoria County deputy warden Larry Dauphinee,is concerned about the effect more rain will have on the recovery efforts.

"It's definitely going toslow down any operations that are going on right now," he said, "And I guess my main concern is that we're going to have more damage where our [road]shoulders haven't been replaced.

"We are a little concerned about what damage is going to be done to the rest of the highways and the [infrastructure] that we have in place."

About a quarter of a kilometre of the road to Tarbotvale was destroyed. (Submitted by Guillotino Shuxley)

Dauphinee said people and supplies have been on the move using boats and helicopters.

The Department of Public Works has been concentrating on areas that have been blocked off, he said, noting that not much work has been done in the Ingonish area.

Dauphinee said people in the Tarbotvale area remaincut off. He said two residents have been moved out of White Point, but Neils Harbour is still blocked.

District 4 Coun.Barbara Longvasaid everyone will be monitoring the weather.

The bridge over the river in Tarbotvale washed away in the storm that swept across the province last week. (Submitted by Guillotino Shuxley)

Longva said the Department of Public Worksand the Emergency Management Officehave been hard at work to get the highways and bridges back in order and have been looking after essentials in the meantime.

"It's been excellent at all levels municipal, provincial and federal," Longva said.

"Everyone's been so helpful and the communities have really come together."

She said food and prescriptions wereflown to people who neededthem by helicopter on Saturday. Wood and other essentials were making their way Sunday to people on TarbotvaleRoad and Oregon Road.

Rebecca Barron, a resident of Tarbotvale Road, said herhusband was one of the people helping with the effort to ferry wood to people in the area on Sunday.

She said a temporary road being built where the road was washed out is almost complete and residents just have to wait for the bridge to be repaired.

Remnants of a bridge that was washed out in Tarbotvale. (Craig Paisley/CBC)

Despite the forecast for more rain, Barron said she is not overly concerned.

"Ithink they were going to be reinforcing along that bank. As long asthey have some kind of armour stone or something there that it should be fine."

On Saturday, Premier Tim Houston visited Antigonish and Neils Harbour by helicopter to see the storm damage for himself.

Houston told the CBC's Stphanie Blanchetthat he wanted those affected by the damage to know that the province supports them.

"We'll do whatever we can working with municipalities and the federal government to help them get their lives back together," Houston said

A bridge in Tarbotvale was destroyed in last week's storm. (Steve Lawrence/CBC)

Also Saturday, Robie Gourd of Parks Canada's Cape Breton field unit said road repairs are ongoing, but he urged people to "temper their expectations" for a quick fix.

"We're working as fast and as safely as we can," Gourd said. " We want to make sure we can get at least one lane open.That's the goal."