A view of a fallen tree in the aftermath of post-tropical cyclone Lee blowing through Maine and the Canadian Maritime provinces, in Saint John, New Brunswick.CHRIS DONOVAN/Reuters
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Post-tropical storm Lee battered the Maritimes this weekend, flooding coastal roads and uprooting trees, with power still knocked out for tens of thousands of residents.
As officials assessed the damage on Sunday from the hurricane season’s first major storm, many were still in the dark, and there was a general feeling of natural-disaster fatigue among Nova Scotians after the province’s historic wildfires in the spring and the summer’s deadly floods.
“You start to feel the exhaustion of dealing with all the preparation, living without power, all the expense and the cleanup, and oh, I can’t wait to see our power rates go up again because this is another major storm,” said Leitha Haysom, a councillor for the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg in southwestern N.S. who has been without power since Saturday at 3 a.m.
“This is the future we’re looking at – of consistent storms and consistent emergencies.”
A crew with the City of Fredericton’s parks and trees division clear trees and branches damaged by post-tropical storm Lee on Sept. 17.Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press
Saturday’s storm left a trail of downed trees, and coastlines and infrastructure damaged by pounding surf. About 277,000 customers in Nova Scotia and 90,000 in New Brunswick were affected by power outages. As of late Sunday afternoon, 38,000 customers in Nova Scotia and 4,000 in New Brunswick were still awaiting restoration.
Some shoreline roads were closed because of washouts and impassable conditions in Nova Scotia, while flights resumed Sunday at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
In photos: Post-tropical storm Lee moves towards the Maritimes
Along the southwestern coast of Nova Scotia, a powerful storm surge chucked rocks out of the ocean and damaged roads in Petite Riviere, Green Bay and Crescent Beach. Infrastructure at the popular Rissers Beach Provincial Park was destroyed.
In New Brunswick, emergency officials spent Sunday assessing the impact of the storm.
“Thank you to the many New Brunswickers who took steps to prepare and keep themselves safe,” said Kyle Leavitt, director of the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, in a statement. “We also encourage residents to check on their neighbours, particularly the elderly, who might require assistance.”
A person walks by a downed tree in the aftermath of post-tropical cyclone Lee in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, September 17, 2023. REUTERS/John MorrisJOHN MORRIS/Reuters
In the Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton regions, crews worked to clear roads of trees and debris. Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said about 50 trees fell down on power lines, causing widespread power and Internet outages. Heavy rains washed out a major road that affected traffic outside the city, and residents dealt with flooded basements and catch basins overflowing into their yards.
But Ms. Rogers noted that the city was better prepared after recently installing oversized pipes in its water sewer system to accommodate heavier rainfall and to mitigate some of the runoff.
“We are heartened in the sense that we did see benefits from the work we have been doing to create resiliency around these significant weather changes,” she said. “The bright side is: It could’ve been worse. Overall, we fared reasonably well.”
In St. Andrews, N.B., where the eye of the storm was predicted to hit, the sound of chainsaws resounded throughout the town as residents picked up debris Sunday.
“People are relieved,” said Mayor Brad Henderson, adding that most of the damage were downed trees, a bent flagpole and local signage. “It did last-minute shift a little bit more east, but it was still very, very heavy winds.”
NB Power wrote in a statement Sunday that outage restoration work will continue for the next couple of days.
About 800 people working for Nova Scotia Power spent Sunday repairing lines throughout the province and assessing damage. The private utility said Western Nova Scotia and the Halifax area were hardest hit, along with Truro and New Glasgow in the province’s northeast.
Nova Scotia Power used helicopters and drones to patrol power lines along with foot patrols.
“Significant winds impacted the province for almost 24 hours, with winds reaching over 90 km an hour in most areas,” the utility said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “There have been roads blocked by trees, which makes it challenging for our crews to access impacted areas.”
Around Halifax, the loud hum of generators could be heard as homeowners cleaned up leaves, branches and sticks from their yards, while many traffic lights remained out as of Sunday afternoon.
In rural Nova Scotia, many people depend on wells for water and don’t have access to water when the power goes out. In Lunenburg County, where 18,000 people were still without power late Sunday afternoon, the estimated time for restoration on Nova Scotia Power’s website said Monday at 11 p.m.
Many were feeling storm weary as they went without showers and had to buy drinking water, as well as charge their devices at community centres, Ms. Haysom said. The councillor spent the day driving around to check on her constituents and assess the damage.
People are tired of just trying to survive power outages while losing all the food in their fridge at a time when groceries are so expensive, she added.
“We just aren’t equipped any more for extended power outages,” said Ms. Haysom, who spent $900 this weekend on a new generator after her old one gave up. “You know, over and over and over again, we just can’t handle the power going out.”