More News from "Home" in Nova Scotia

              I slept badly last evening, hoping that the people and places I knew would still be intact in the morning, after high tide which would bring another storm surge, and following more high winds.   This morning, I wandered in early to the computer to learn the following.
               In many ways, this is much worse than the storm which pummeled the US Northeast.  The storm which afflicted the US Northeast was one storm, whereas a storm from Ontario and Quebec converged with the storm from the Northeast, providing Nova Scotians with a rare and perfect destructive storm.  Last I heard, the causeway to Cape Sable Island, and island of significant size off the Southermost tip of Nova Scotia is temporarily inaccessible due to blizzard conditions and icing.. 
             This is a picture of one of the grocery stores I shopped in, quite a distance from our house.  It has changed hands since I was last there.  The thick front glass has indeed been blown out by high winds, which is interesting, because it's fairly well protected, and faces away from the ocean.  The local weather station reported winds in excess of 120 km./hr.  The Emergency Measures Coordinator has said that the storm "opened a gap in the building" and that the glass blew out from the inside out".  I can't even imagine.

I believe that this is the store which has heated steel lines on the front of the roof which help to melt snow in order to decrease snow load, and keep this building safe from collapses.   This store has the best selection of trash and recycling bags in all sizes and colors. Recycling is a big deal in Nova Scotia. Even out-of-towners like us are required to properly sort and correctly color code our bags of trash for proper recycling.  Nova Scotians must  even separate and recycle everything in fast food restaurants.

Later in the day.  (Photo: Kathy Johnson)

 

               Power was knocked out for a good deal of the region, which doesn't hurt us much, because the house has been winterized, but I'll bet with the cold, trees down, snowy icy roads, and pounding surf, it was quite a problem.  Local officials opened a shelter or two, in fire stations,, but with blizzard conditions, I wonder how many people got there. Most businesses in the county were closed yesterday, and this kept most people off the roads.  In other parts of Nova Scotia, hospitals organized "Jeep Brigades" to get physicians and nurses to hospitals.
             Many if not most people in the region make their money through fishing and lobster harvesting.  Yesterday, many wharfs were turned to matchsticks, and ones which remained had boats  set upon them.  It's hard to imagine some of those large fishing boats with larger crews  being set on wharfs, or set this far inland following a storm surge.   There is also major roof damage to some buildings, and the many historical buildings have yet to be assessed.

I am glad our own doors are staying closed. This is quite typical for yesterday. (Photo: Julie Young)

These are lobster traps brought onto a road by the storm surge. The ocean is on the right.  (Photo: Susan Quinlan)

Many pieces of road equipment of all varieties slipped off roads yesterday.  A plow slipped off the road right near our house.

Photo's without the contributor's name are credited at this time to: www.thecoastguard.ca, which is a newspaper.

         With the people I was concerned about apparently safe, I recalled that last year our homeowners insurance for the house there took a jump.  This amount of damage in the area is probably going to cause it to rise additionally.  However, I am grateful for the the safety of the people and for our house.   When the drifts melt and the weather is better, a better look will need to be taken at our house to ensure that nothing happened in the following day.  Daniel would have loved this miraculous place.


Updates:

The Cape Sable Causeway situation has improved and is passable.  The live feed is back up at:

 http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/south-shore/cape-sable-island.html



This post is an update to the prior post on this subject which can be found at:

http://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/02/worries-for-nova-scotia.html 

Worries for Nova Scotia

Part of the shopping area in Nova Scotia, as it normally appears.

           

  As most of you know, we have a second home which overlooks the ocean in Nova Scotia.  We have owned it for many years, which is long enough to know that hurricanes are not the problem there.  However, Winter storms can be.   We have been nervous all week when we received e-mail weather alerts from the region telling us that as this Noreaster blows through the Northeast US, that it would also be afflicting the area in which our Nova Scotia home is located.  Never in the years we have owned the home has the area been under this many alerts.  There is a High Wind Alert,  a Blizzard Alert, but also the one which worries me the most which is Storm Surge Warning. 
      I prayed last evening that the people who live on our road overlooking the ocean, the people who care for our house, and the house itself survive this storm intact which was expected to be quite bad.   This afternoon, I received a call from our power company there telling me when they believed the power would be restored again.   I also spoke to the family who watches and lovingly cares for our house.  They are alright.  Apparently, the road between the ocean and our home has washed away, thanks to the storm surge.  There is significant snow. The wind was even worse than usual, and a number of buildings and barns collapsed under the wind and the weight of the snow load.   Our house is presently intact and is unflooded, and our barns are intact.  I am told that a couple of the neighbors a distance away on the street were not so lucky.  I also saw news that one of the large grocery stores we use while staying In Nova Scotia had all of its front glass blown out by severe winds last evening.   I looked at some pictures on the Canadian Broadcasting site and could not imagine such damage. It seems that I knew about Winter Storm Nemo, but I did not know that Maritime Canada was also hit by a storm which came across Canada named Juan. Our home is being hit by two storms simaltaneously !

Nova Scotia today at Yarmouth Harbour

       We were at the house there during Hurricane Irene, which was simply interesting.   I did wonder if the siding or roofing shingles would come off, and closing the door when coming inside was difficult.  We always felt safe there, and we didn't take any chances. I think the greatest risk that visit was all of the salt spray all over our dark colored rental car.

        Rural Nova Scotia has been hit especially hard in the past few years.  First, the US recession had a very negative effect on everything from general commerce there, to tourism and even real estate prices.  Secondly, the Canadian government chose to stop subsidizing the ferry which travelled from Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.   This furthur devastated real estate prices in  Nova Scotia, and closed a multitude of businesses.  In addition, many young people have chosen to leave Nova Scotia in search of jobs.  Storm damage to homes there comes in a time in which it is particularly difficult for people to find the money to make repairs, and people often fear claims on homeowner's insurance for other than a total loss as their fear cancellation or a sharp rise in their rates.  It seems tonight that 40 cm. of snow are the least of our worries.

Where the signs are is normally a street.  (Photo: NationalPost.com)

      Here is the current warning for this evening:


This is a warning that an extended period of blowing snow with poor visibilities is occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..listen for updated statements.

An intense low pressure system south of Nova Scotia will continue moving east tonight.

Snow and blowing snow will persist over much of Nova Scotia tonight although the precipitation has diminished in intensity over southernmost regions. By the time the snow tapers off on Sunday much of Nova Scotia will have received total snowfalls of 30 to 40 centimetres from this storm.

Strong northeasterlies over the Gulf of St Lawrence will give higher than normal water levels along Northumberland Strait later tonight. Northumberland Strait is mainly ice covered and these strong winds will push pack ice into north to northeast facing shorelines giving some ice pile up. There is a risk of some coastal flooding due to the elevated water levels especially around high tide this evening.

This is a fishing shack which was knocked off its foundation near the sea. This is in the area of our home.

(Photo:CBC.ca)

 

      I love our home there and although because we are Americans and will likely never live there beyond a few weeks at a time. Despite the fact that Daniel never lived there, it is a very spiritual place, and a place in which I feel him, there with us.  I am worried tonight for our friends and also for our home there. Prayers are appreciated.


Updates can be found at:

  http://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/02/more-news-from-home-in-nova-scotia.html