Residents along Canada's Atlantic coast on Monday were digging out from a "historic" snowfall that paralyzed parts of the province of Nova Scotia over the weekend, halting transportation networks and forcing many businesses, government offices and schools to shutter.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality has declared a local state of emergency. It said the focus in the days ahead will be on clearing roads for emergency vehicles. Schools will be closed and the bus service, Transit Cape Breton, will not be operating on Tuesday. Officials were also asking non-essential services to remain closed until roads are considered safe again, according to CBC News.
"It is very likely that areas around southeastern Cape Breton exceeded 100 centimeters" of precipitation, Environment Canada meteorologist Bob Robichaud told AFP, describing the storm as "historic" in scale.
"If we look at the entire event, from Friday until this morning, these are record quantities," he said.
A person shovels snow in front of the house in Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia, Canada, February 3, 2024. /CFP
On Sunday afternoon, authorities on the province's Cape Breton island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence declared a state of emergency, urging citizens to only travel out of "absolute necessity."
"With this amount of snow and this type of snow – it's heavy and sticky – it's challenging, so we'll take time" to deal with it, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told a news conference on Monday. He said he asked the capital city of Ottawa to send in the military and other resources to help.
Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said he approved emergency aid and the deployment of Parks Canada heavy snow removal equipment and Coast Guard helicopters to move supplies.
"Nova Scotians – and in particular, Cape Bretoners – find themselves amidst an unprecedented snowstorm," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
On social media, residents shared images of the storm's aftermath, some showing snow accumulations as high as the top of doors or the roofs of houses. Halifax International Airport saw flights delayed or canceled and public transportation in the regional capital of Halifax shut down temporarily.
(With input from agencies)