Heavy rain and high winds are causing power outages and cancellations in parts of the Maritimes, with serious flooding across Cape Breton. State of emergency A local state of emergency was declared Saturday evening in Inverness, Richmond and Victoria counties “due to severe flooding and widespread damage.” According to the province, multiple roads are closed and conditions remain dangerous. Residents are being asked to stay off the roads unless travel is essential for health, safety or emergency purposes. An alert ready message was sent to those in the impacted area Saturday evening. While Sydney and the surrounding area was not included in the state of emergency, several roads were underwater Saturday as a result of localized flooding. Weather alerts Eastern areas of Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton, were under rainfall warnings. Environment Canada has forecast 20 to 40 mm of rainfall for the eastern mainland from now until Monday morning. Heavier rain was expected to develop Saturday afternoon with rainfall rates of 10 mm per hour possible. The warning for the mainland ended late Saturday afternoon, though periods of rain are expected through the evening and into Sunday. Cape Breton is under an orange rainfall warning. Environment Canada has forecast 40 to 60 mm of rainfall over the course of the weekend. Rainfall rates of 20 mm per hour are expected for some areas. Localized flooding has occurred in a number of areas. Officials are warning drivers to be cautious and avoid driving through flooded streets. The entirety of Prince Edward Island is under a yellow rainfall warning. The weather agency estimates 30 to 50 mm of rainfall is expected to fall by Monday morning. Rainfall rates of 20 mm per hour are possible during this slow-moving weather system. Cancellations and detours Northumberland Ferries Limited said due to forecast high winds, the remainder of departures from Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., for Saturday have been cancelled. IN PICTURES: Cape Breton Flooding Earlier departures had already been cancelled due to the weather. The CAT ferry crossings between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbor, Maine have also been cancelled both Saturday and Sunday. “Passengers affected by this cancellation will be contacted by a Bay Ferries agent who will provide assistance to change your travel plans,” read the travel advisory Saturday. Transit Cape Breton announced detours Saturday due to localized flooding for New Waterford as well as the Sydney to Glace Bay route. Power outages As of Saturday around 1:30 p.m., approximately 12,600 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power in areas under the weather alerts. By 4 p.m., close to 40,000 had no power. “Extreme rain and flooding has damaged equipment, particularly in Cape Breton, causing outages,” Nova Scotia Power said in a social media post Saturday. As of 9:30 p.m., 7,743 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power. It noted restoration may take longer due to washed out roads and access to equipment.
