The road leading into Dingwall, N.S., in northern Cape Breton was flooded Wednesday, cutting off the community of 600 people. It reopened Thursday. (John Buchanan)

Damage from high winds and heavy rains that hit Nova Scotia this week became more evident Thursday as water levels receded.

In Cape Breton and the Annapolis Valley — the areas hardest hit by the storm — bridges were washed away, roads were washed out by mudslides, and basements were flooded.

Max Ingram, one of the Margaree Harbour residents in disbelief on Thursday, surveyed one of three heavily damaged local bridges.

"This is the worst I've ever seen it, out of 47 years, and I've never seen it this bad," Ingram said.

Helen Godreau could only watch Wednesday as her neighbour's summer home floated into the Margaree River.

"We kept watching it all day," Godreau said. "There was another shed there that went earlier pushed up against that, and then it went out in the water."

Contractors cleared a mudslide Thursday afternoon on the East Margaree Road that had cut off several families. Concerns were raised about people in the area running out of medical supplies, such as insulin.

As of Thursday evening, only one lane was open. The Department of Transportation plans to open the other lane Friday.

"There's two machines and it took three hours I guess," said Inverness County Coun. Gloria LeBlanc. "It was a mixture of mud and trees and rocks 200 feet along the road and it covered the whole road."

LeBlanc said many people will need disaster assistance to recover.

The Cabot Trail was reopened Thursday but had to be closed again, causing a one-hour detour for many residents.

Power has been restored to most communities in Nova Scotia, but some areas, including Kentville and Wolfville in the Annapolis Valley, where there was severe damage from high winds, continue to report outages. More than 100 crews were trying to restore power to customers Thursday.

Two hundred Eastlink telephone customers in the Annapolis Valley were waiting to be reconnected.

A mudslide blocked one end of the East Margaree Road, trapping residents. (Sam LeBlanc)

Some of the worst damage happened at the Berwick United Church Camp, where trees crashed down on the cabins used from June to September by groups from across the province.

Peter Woods, past president of the board that runs camp, estimated the damage could be up to $1 million.

"A lot of buildings had some level of damage, but the striking part was in what we call our upper campgrounds, which is a treed area where people use tents and tent trailers," he said. "A number of trees were just falling like matchsticks.

"It was almost unrecognizable. It was really heartbreaking."

Woods said there was an emergency meeting of the church camp board, and people are gearing up to have the facility cleared and ready for next season.

At the Grand Pré National Historic Site, many large weeping willows were knocked down by high winds.

The province's emergency management office was urging residents to make safety the priority as waters recede.

"People in Victoria and Inverness counties and throughout the Annapolis Valley have had a harrowing week," said Ramona Jennex, the minister of emergency management. "We've been very fortunate that no one has been injured by this storm. Please be careful today and continue to help each other as we all work to clean up our properties and communities."

People whose properties sustained damage were being told to contact their insurance agents as soon as possible, and include photographs or videotape of all damage and of items that had to be disposed of after flooding.

Emergency management officials were also warning residents not to use flooded appliances, electrical outlets, switch boxes or fuse/breaker panels until they are checked by their local utility.

Once the water recedes, homeowners are encouraged to check their on-site septic systems, and contact their local environment office if the system is not working. Homeowners should also check their oil tanks to ensure they are still secure.