The 2023 Nova Scotia floods were a series of floods in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.[2][3] Areas in Nova Scotia received 250mm (9.8 inches) of rain in a 24 hour period, causing flash floods.[4]
| Date | July 21-22, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Cause | Heavy rains |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Property damage | $200 million (2023 USD)[1] |
On July 22, 2023, a state of emergency was declared in the province, scheduled to last two weeks, ending on August 5. The floods greatly affected the municipalities of Halifax, East Hants, West Hants, as well as the counties of Lunenburg and Queens[5] with estimates of up to 300 millimetres of rain in parts of the province.[6]
Aftermath
editFollowing the flooding, four people were reported missing. The body of a missing man was found in West Hants on July 24 and unidentified remains of a missing person were found in nearby Kings County.[7][8] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on July 25, 2023, that the remains of two children were found in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, which included the unidentified body that was found the previous day, bringing the death toll to three.[4] The remaining missing person, an unidentified youth under 18 years of age, remained missing with the search suspended on July 31. Remaining high water impeded the search area, and plans were made to resume the search once the search area drained,[9] but the body was discovered on August 1st,[10] by a citizen walking their dog, approximately 75 kilometers away from the site of the disappearance.[11]
Many roads, highways, driveways, and bridges were damaged or washed out. The province announced that 500 sections of roadway and 48 bridges across the province had been damaged.[12] The only train line connecting the Port of Halifax to the rest of the country was damaged, with a section south of Truro, Nova Scotia, being washed out. The train line was repaired and operational by Thursday July 27th.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Q3 Global Catastrophe Recap October 2023" (PDF). Aon Benfield. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ^ Carballo, Rebecca (22 July 2023). "Four Remain Missing After Torrential Rains in Nova Scotia". The New York Times.
- ^ Williams, Nia (23 July 2023). "Nova Scotia wrestles with aftermath of devastating floods". Reuters.
- ^ a b Nadine Yousif (July 25, 2023). "Canada floods: Bodies of two children found in Nova Scotia". BBC News.
- ^ Scotia, Communications Nova (11 May 2018). "Provincewide State of Emergency Declared". News Releases.
- ^ Mitchell, Kalin (24 July 2023). "Extreme rain in Nova Scotia exceeds once-in-a-century event". CTV News.
- ^ Andrew Sampson (July 24, 2023). "Body of 52-year-old man, unidentified human remains, recovered after devastating N.S. floods". CBC News.
- ^ Nadine Yousif (July 24, 2023). "Nova Scotia floods: Body found of one of four missing". BBC News.
- ^ Josh Hoffman (July 31, 2023). "Search suspended for youth missing in N.S. floods". CBC News.
- ^ Natalie Lombard (August 2, 2023). "Body of teenager who went missing in Nova Scotia flood believed to have been found". CTV News.
- ^ Aly Thomson (August 2, 2023). "Remains believed to be final missing victim of historic N.S. floods have been found". CBC News.
- ^ Lyndsay Armstrong (July 27, 2023). "'Crews are working around the clock': N.S. has so far repaired 500 sections of roads damaged by torrential rain storms". CTV News.
- ^ Alex Cooke (July 28, 2023). "CN Rail reopens Nova Scotia link cut off by recent floods in under a week". Global News.