Halifax drivers told to ‘stay off the roads’ as flooding causes significant damage

Halifax residents were being told to avoid driving on Saturday as flash flooding caused by heavy rains resulted in a significant amount of road damage throughout the municipality and across the province.

In an 8 a.m. release from the Halifax Regional Municipality, it was noted that numerous areas were washed out as cars were abandoned on roads and highways – resulting in dangerous driving conditions.

“There is a significant amount of damage and residents are advised to stay off the roads,” a release said.

By Friday at 10 p.m., the Halifax Regional Municipality issued an emergency alert, asking drivers to stay off all roads and highways unless it was an emergency.

A torrential downpour, accompanied by persistent thunder and lightning, started around 3:30 p.m. Friday. By 8 p.m., the rain was still coming down in buckets, causing chaos for drivers and homeowners, and continued throughout the night.

Reports had more than 200 millimetres of rain falling alone for parts of Bedford on Friday evening.

“The amounts of rain received so far has varied dramatically across the province and even within the same county,” Environment Canada said in a statement.

“While the rain could be intermittent throughout (Saturday), occasional torrential downpours and embedded thundershowers could potentially give much higher amounts of rain locally.”

Environment Canada issued advisories for much of the province – but has since ended its rainfall warning for the Halifax area as of Saturday at noon.

Rainfall warnings remain in effect for central and eastern Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton.

Stephen Martin, a fire chief with the municipality, said many roads in the Bedford area are covered in water.

“And there’s more rain coming,” he said Saturday morning.

Officials in Halifax say the rain has already caused significant damage to roads and infrastructure.  In some areas, submerged streets are littered with abandoned vehicles.

Nova Scotia’s emergency system sent out an evacuation order early Saturday morning for residents of the St. Croix area in Hants County due to a dam overflowing.

The city said all emergency flooding calls were currently being directed to Halifax Water at 902.420.9287.

“Call volumes remain high, and residents are asked for their patience,” the release continued.

Halifax’s transit system was also experiencing delays and detours due to extensive road damage.

Two evacuation centres have since opened in the Halifax area for residents experiencing power outages or flooding in their homes.

The Beaver Bank Community Centre on 1583 Beaver Bank Road and the East Dartmouth Community Centre on 50 Caledonia Road in Dartmouth will remain open until further notice, the municipality said.

Scores of images shared on social media show cars plowing through deep water. And one video from the Windsor Junction area north of Halifax shows firefighters standing on the roof of their submerged pumper truck.

At one point, more than 70,000 homes and businesses were in the dark as lightning strikes knocked out electricity.

Nova Scotia Power, the province’s privately owned electric utility, opened its emergency operations centre at 5 a.m.

Several ongoing events in the city have been postponed or abandoned due to the weather, including the North American Indigenous Games cancelling its closing ceremony on Friday and announcing the closure of its Cultural Village at the Halifax Common on Saturday.

The Halifax Wanderers have rescheduled their Saturday afternoon match to Sunday at 5 p.m.

Environment Canada is forecasting an additional 2o to 30 milimetres of precipitation with a risk of thundershowers on Saturday. The rain is expected to end in the evening.

– With files from the Canadian Press

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.