Hurricane Bill washes away N.S. road
EMO minister says province 'lucky' damage wasn't worse
Last Updated: Monday, August 24, 2009 | 4:34 PM AT
CBC News
The Western Head causeway takes a beating from Hurricane Bill on Sunday. (Courtesy Ron Shupe) Nova Scotia Transportation Department crews are assessing what's left of a causeway that was hammered away in the strong surf of Hurricane Bill.
The Western Head causeway near Liverpool, also known as the shore road, was swept away Sunday as the Category 1 storm blew past the province.
Patricia Jreige, a spokeswoman for the Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Department, said workers were out at the site Sunday and again Monday.
The causeway after the storm swept through. (Courtesy Kim Masland)"Once they assess the damage, we'll be able to provide more details on the repairs, what's needed and the cost," she told CBC News.
Local residents say the causeway is an important transportation link for them, as well as for tourists and surfers attracted to the local beaches.
Though there were some flooded roads and power outages, the province largely made it through the storm unscathed.
Ramona Jennex, the minister responsible for the Emergency Management Office, said Nova Scotia was "extremely lucky" that Bill didn't come 80 kilometres closer to the coast.
"This was a huge storm and we were blessed that it missed us," she told reporters Monday.
Jennex said she's pleased that people stocked up on emergency supplies and took precautions at home, but hopes they don't become complacent now that Bill is becoming memorable for what it didn't inflict on the province.
Hurricane Bill blasted into the Nova Scotia area Sunday morning as a Category 1 storm, moving northeast off the province's Atlantic coast before hitting Newfoundland around midnight.
The maximum winds of 130 km/h were offshore, although strong winds and heavy rain took out enough tree branches to knock out power to thousands of Nova Scotians. Some places received as much as 30 millimetres of rain in an hour.
Nova Scotia Power said about 30 customers in the Shelburne area were without power as of Monday afternoon, down from 45,000 at one point.
Swimmers at Queensland Beach were warned they could be hit with $800 fines. (CBC)Jennifer Parker, a corporation spokeswoman, said a dozen crews were working on the outages, and residents could expect to have their lights back on later in the day.
The province reopened all of its beaches and parks on Monday except for Martinique, Lawrencetown and Conrads, which remained closed because of damage to boardwalks and stairs.
Flights were back on schedule at the Halifax airport, and Marine Atlantic resumed its ferry run between North Sydney and Port Aux Basques, N.L.
Strongest winds offshore
Peter Bowyer of the Canadian Hurricane Centre rejects suggestions that Bill didn't live up to its billing.
"It's not a weak storm at all," he said Sunday. "I think the highest [wave] we've seen at one of our buoys is 26 metres, and pretty well all along the coast of Nova Scotia has been experiencing nine-to-10-metre waves."
Some people ignored the warnings to stay away from the Atlantic coastline.
At Peggys Cove, three men who snuck past a roadblock were hit by a giant wave, but were not hurt. A gift shop in the village was swept off of its foundation.
At Queensland Beach, swimmers were warned they could be fined $800 if they didn't get out of the water.
In the U.S., dangerous waves from Hurricane Bill are being blamed for the deaths of at least two people.
A seven-year-old girl died in Maine after being swept into the water with her father and another girl. In Florida, a 54-year-old swimmer died after he was washed ashore unconscious.
Nova Scotia EMO officials were still cautioning people about the dangers at the coast on Monday.
With files from The Associated Press
