Strait of Canso News’ Post

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A 72-hour blizzard that featured more than 100 centimetres of snow in some areas, knocked out power for thousands, blanketed roads and highways, and closed schools and businesses. The winter storm which lasted from Feb. 2 to Feb. 4, hit eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton the hardest with a heavy, persistent snowfall, mixed with gusting winds. During a media briefing on Feb. 5 in Halifax, Premier Tim Houston called the snowstorm “historic.” To those who had not had their roads plowed, Houston appealed for patience. The premier said his government is doing “everything possible” to clear roads, including moving resources to the most impacted areas and appealing to neighbouring provinces. Mark Peachey, Chief Engineer with the Department Public Works said the need for road clearing operations on this scale hasn’t been seen since White Juan in 2004.  At the moment, Peachy said 20 public works vehicles are out of service. He said having five per cent of its fleet out of operation is “higher than normal,” noting the crews are reporting snow drifts eight to 10 feet high. After speaking with Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway, Sydney-Victoria MP Jamie Battiste, and Cape Breton Regional Municipal Mayor Amanda McDougall, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Feb. 4 that his government is “here to help however we can.” Houston said the province has requested snow removal equipment, portable fuel storage, and air transport from the federal government. Pointing to the thousands of Nova Scotia customers without power, the premier said there were more than 100 crews out working to restore service. Nova Scotia Power Storm Lead Matt Drover said the “massive amount of snow” is preventing access to some of its infrastructure. Noting that EHS responded to over 500 calls on Feb. 4, and another 300 at the time of the briefing, Houston said it’s important to call 911. For more, go to: https://lnkd.in/es5nAx2P #nsp #ehs #nsemo #nspublicworks #cbrm #nsh

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