Flooding continues to be a concern for many residents in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Heavy rain left some streets closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic on Monday. Yards were filled with water and Columbus Field was flooded following days of persistent rainfall.
READ: ‘Away it went’: strong winds blow roof off Halifax’s Maritime Conservatory
Town officials brought in heavy machinery to clear a parking lot on Creighton Lane that flooded not once but twice over the weekend.
23 vehicles were damaged following a flash flood and freeze on Friday.
Laurie Boucher, the Mayor of Antigonish, says staff checked the lot around 5:30 p.m. and weren’t concerned at that time. But by 6:10 p.m., the area was flooded.
“It’s just that there’s so much water that it overflows the banks but really there’s not a whole lot that can be done,” she said.
“The reason it was so tragic this time was how quickly it came in.”
Over the last 24 hours, Boucher said the town received an estimated 60 millimeters of rain.
She says some businesses and residences did report having water in their basements. However, Boucher says there have been no reports of any major damage in the town as a result of the rising waters.
WATCH: Ross Lord reprots on wild weather causes floods, snowfall warnings in Atlantic Canada
Ryan Seelye and Serge Lauzon’s vehicle was ruined in the flood.
Seelye, a social worker, says he left his car in the parking lot for a short time on Friday evening. When he came back, it was submerged in water.
“It looked like a movie. I couldn’t even react, I felt numb,” he said.
READ: Shubenacadie Sam predicts early spring on Groundhog Day
The pair believe their car is a total write-off.
“That’s what the tow truck driver told us, that it was going to be a complete write-off because once the water hit the computer, and where it sat so long in the computers that it would have fried everything in the car,” said Lauzon.
“Even the next day we went to the junk yard, the ice was inside the car up to the steering wheel,” added Seelye.
Seelye requires a car to get around for work but it was a difficult process to get access to one in the short term.
“We couldn’t get a rental car because there was so many people affected that there was no available cars at that time,” said Louzon.
“Even the neighbouring communities didn’t have any,” Seelye said.
Luckily, Louzon’s mother has loaned the couple a vehicle to use in the meantime, while they wait to hear what happens next from their insurance company.
WATCH: Ryan Seelye and Serge Lauzon speak about the flood
Heather Blackburn’s vehicle was also heavily damaged as a result of rising waters.
She works at a business on Main Street and left her SUV in the Creighton Lane lot. While at the office on Friday evening, Blackburn received a panicked call from her husband telling her to check the lot.
“I quickly cleaned out my desk and walked out and the water was already across the street and I could see my vehicle in the distance already had water up to the door handles and the grill,” said Blackburn. “I drive a Subaru Forester so it’s not a low profile vehicle by any means.”
READ MORE: Snow and rain make for dangerous commute in Halifax, more than 25 collisions reported
Although she hasn’t been able to have look inside her vehicle, Blackburn believes it will be declared a total loss.
“It is a bit frustrating, I had exactly one payment left on that vehicle and then it was going to be free and clear. So, all of my plans for that monthly payment have to be re-assessed at this point so that’s a bit of a selfish disappointment.”
Although the flood is a difficult thing for many to deal with, Blackburn says she feels lucky to be able to go through something like this in a small community like Antigonish.
She says community members have been very helpful through the weekend and that information about the incident is being freely shared among town officials.
“There are way worse times to ruin a car. It was empty, in a parking lot, nobody was hurt. I don’t have any valuables in there so big picture it’s a frustration but I’ll survive,” she said.
WATCH: Heather Blackburn speaks about finding her vehicle submerged in flood waters
As for the flood waters around Antigonish, Mayor Boucher says they are now finally starting to recede.
Comments